How Penetration Testing & Managing Risk Can Help Lower Your Insurance Costs

In our previous blog, we explored the importance of cybersecurity for your insurance coverage, touching on three key areas. One of these areas was penetration testing, a critical proactive cybersecurity measure. Penetration testing plays a vital role in strengthening cybersecurity defenses and demonstrating your commitment to risk management, which can, in turn, help lower your premiums and deductibles. 

What is a Penetration Test?

A penetration test, or pen test, is an authorized, simulated cyber-attack on your IT infrastructure. Ethical hackers (the good guys) use automated tools and manual techniques to actively attempt to 
exploit weaknesses, identify security gaps, and gain unauthorized access. 

A penetration test helps you assess your actual risk exposure and the effectiveness of your current cybersecurity measures. It provides you with valuable insights to help you fortify your defenses, making your systems more secure and reducing the chances of a successful cyber-attack.

Cyber Insurance Considerations

Penetration tests can play a key role in demonstrating a proactive approach to cybersecurity risk management, which can positively impact cyber insurance coverage and premiums in the following ways:

• Risk Reduction: Penetration testing helps organizations identify security gaps, so they can remediate them, reducing the likelihood and severity of cyber incidents. Insurers view proactive risk management measures favorably, potentially leading to lower premiums.
  
  
• Compliance Assurance: Regular penetration testing demonstrates compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards, providing insurers with confidence in an organization’s commitment to cybersecurity.
  
  
• Underwriting Consideration: Insurers assess an organization’s cybersecurity posture when determining coverage and premiums. By identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, penetration testing reduces the likelihood of successful cyberattacks. Insurers may offer more favorable insurance terms such as discounted premiums and lower deductibles to organizations with a lower likelihood of filing a claim.

In addition to these considerations, insurers often ask whether an independent third party performed the penetration test, as they offer a more credible and unbiased evaluation of an organization’s security measures. That’s where we can help. 

Our team will work with you to understand your specific requirements, so we can recommend the most suitable approach for your organization. Contact us at IGIcybersecurity.com/contact to learn more.