August 14, 2025
The Illusion of All-in-One Cyber Protection
Cyberattacks are growing more frequent and sophisticated. This has led some insurance providers to offer to add "cybersecurity services" into their policies: coverage and protection from one place. But cyber insurance is not cybersecurity.
Insurance helps you recover after an attack. Cybersecurity is what keeps that attack from happening in the first place. When insurers try to fill both roles, the results are often inadequate protection, denied claims, and a false sense of security.
Let's explore why separating your security provider from your insurer is the only way to truly safeguard your business, and how working with a managed IT services partner can secure your business.
The Core Conflict: Insurance Isn't Built for Defense
Incentives Aren't Aligned
Insurance companies exist to reduce their own liability. When they also recommend your security tools and policies, their advice might not be best for your business.
This misalignment can lead to:
- Minimalist security controls that meet only the bare minimum for underwriting
- One-size-fits-all solutions that ignore your unique operational risks
- Gaps in cybersecurity leaving you vulnerable
This dual role creates a dangerous feedback loop: the same entity that sets your security standards also decides whether you met them after a breach.
Cybersecurity Insurance Claims Are Often Denied
Nearly 44% of cyber insurance claims are denied. Many policies contain exclusions, vague language, and traps that can void your insurance coverage. This means that despite paying premiums, you may be left out to dry after an incident.
In many cases, insurers will:
- Initially approve a claim to reduce PR risk
- Audit your controls after the fact
- Retract payout based on alleged non-compliance - even after following their advice
This leaves businesses not only financially exposed but legally vulnerable. Executives, especially CFOs, are increasingly being held personally liable for cybersecurity failures.
Lack of Specialized Expertise and Real-Time Responsiveness
Cybersecurity is not a checkbox—it's a discipline.
It requires:
- Customization for your systems
- Awareness and knowledge active threat intelligence
- Understands the security needs of high-risk, regulated environments like finance, manufacturing, and gaming
Most insurance companies lack the infrastructure, personnel, and threat intelligence capabilities to deliver this level of protection. Many businesses have faced devastating breaches simply because their insurer-recommended tools lacked proactive defense mechanisms.
A finance business, for example, may adopt an insurance-recommended tool and pass a basic checklist, but still fail a regulatory audit due to insufficient encryption or monitoring. Insurance compliance is not the same as regulatory compliance.
Insurance Security Doesn't Hold Up Under Audit
Relying on an insurer's cybersecurity framework may not satisfy your industry's regulatory requirements. This is especially true for industries governed by HIPAA, FTC Safeguards, and PCI-DSS.
A compliant cybersecurity framework requires:
- Real-time risk monitoring
- Documented access control
- Ongoing vulnerability management
- Independent testing and reporting
One internal policy review revealed that some insurers only reference broad compliance standards, not considering what regulations your individual business must meet. A cybersecurity team, like those at Orbis Solutions, provides the level of visibility and control auditors expect.
Strategic Misalignment Leaves Businesses Vulnerable
Cybersecurity is a strategic function that should align with your business goals, not just a line item on an insurance policy. You want a secure framework to keep your business safe and compliant with an evolving defense strategy. Insurers want to reduce your security to a simple checklist.
This leaves businesses vulnerable to outdated tools, missed threats, and false confidence in their resilience.
Keeping Cybersecurity and Insurance Separate
While it might seem like a great idea to bundle your cybersecurity and cyber insurance with the same company, it creates dangerous cyber security blind spots that can lead to breaches, compliance failures, and denied claims.
By choosing to work with an independent cybersecurity partner, you put your business first. A dedicated team:
- Understands your IT environment and tailors defenses to your unique risk profile
- Provides unbiased advice not influenced by claims liability
- Helps you meet both insurance and regulatory requirements
If you are a victim of a cyberattack, you can rely on an IT partner like Orbis Solutions to have the compliance documentation you need. We help negotiate claims on your behalf, ensuring you get the protection you paid for. Your IT provider should work for you, not your insurer.
Don't Confuse Coverage with Protection
If a fire broke out in your house, would you call your insurance company to put it out? No, you'd call the fire department.
Cyber insurance won't stop a cyberattack. Relying on your insurer for cybersecurity exposes you to system breaches, failed audits, and compliance violations.
Let Orbis help you build a security strategy that protects what matters—before a breach ever happens.
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