Why cyber outreach can’t be an afterthought anymore?

When it comes to cyber risk, silence isn’t safety. According to a July 2025 report by Carrier Management, insurers and brokers are making a significant shift, moving away from reactive claims support and toward proactive cyber engagement with clients to pre-empt potential threats. 

Cyber incidents aren’t slowing down – they are just becoming more expensive 

According to Coalition’s 2025 Cyber Claims Report, Business Email Compromise (BEC) claims increased 23% in severity year over year, with average losses climbing to $35,000. Nearly 30% of those BEC attacks escalated into funds transfer fraud, with damages averaging $185,000 per incident.  As of late, I have been inundated with communications via email, voice mail and text congratulating me on a line of credit at my disposal.  The problem?  I never applied for one and it is bogus.  “Free money” and this is a tactic for the perpetrator to gather personal information on the application that can then be used to steal funds or even shift the ownership of a house. 

What’s changing isn’t just the threat, it’s the strategies used to combat it. More carriers are realizing that cyber insurance isn’t a standalone product; it’s part of a broader risk partnership that requires education, communication, and frequent check-ins. 

What does “cyber outreach” look like now? 

Gone are the days when cyber insurance was a back-pocket safety net. Today’s clients expect their coverage to come with ongoing guidance, not just a policy document.  

Instead of waiting for claims, brokers and carriers are: 

• Offering phishing simulation tools and endpoint audits as part of policy onboarding 

• Running executive cyber workshops to help clients understand what’s covered, what’s not, and what triggers a claim denial 

• Sharing breach trends and alerts (like recent SharePoint) directly with policyholders, in real time 

• Providing pre-incident response planning, including legal, PR, and forensics contact sheets, before anything happens 

• Providing 1-800 help lines for questions and concerns that are cyber-related to help prevent and/or mitigate claims 

Why does this shift matter? 

For years, many businesses assumed their broker or insurance provider would simply step in after a cyber incident. But in today’s threat environment—marked by zero-day exploits, vendor breaches, AI-driven fraud, and deepfake manipulation—that’s no longer enough.  In fact, as a broker, we are often excluded from the claims process to avoid delays and complications in the adjudication process.  Always there for advocacy, but due to the specialization of these types of claims, we do not play near the role on cyber versus claims triggering other lines of insurance. 

As one cyber underwriter put it in the Carrier Management, “Outreach isn’t just about retention. It’s about reducing losses before they happen, and that’s better for everyone involved.” 

This shift is especially important in trust-reliant sectors like healthcare, finance, legal, logistics, and education, where reputational damage can escalate faster than technical recovery. 

Clients aren’t just buying a policy anymore. They’re looking for: 

• Clarity around what’s covered—and what isn’t 

• Guidance on vendor risk and supply chain security 

• Breach response playbooks tailored to their business  

• A partner, not just a product  

• This is especially true for sectors like healthcare, finance, legal, logistics, and education, industries that depend heavily on trust, uptime, and data integrity.  

• Cyber scoring and monitoring services 

• 1-800 support 

This shift is especially important in trust-reliant sectors like healthcare, finance, legal, logistics, and education, where reputational damage can escalate faster than technical recovery. 

Your clients are counting on more than coverage 

If you support clients - whether through insurance, technology, legal counsel, or HR, you should be asking: 

• Are we sharing relevant cyber guidance during onboarding or renewals? 

• Do clients know how to reach us in a cyber emergency? 

• Have we walked through a breach scenario with them—before one happens? 

• Are we tailoring risk communication by company size, industry, and risk tolerance? 

Do you want to take the next step in cyber readiness? 

If you're looking for a simple, accessible way to strengthen your cyber response plan and provide your clients with some level of cyber support and limit check out the Cyber Liability Program offered through Libertate Insurance. According to a 2025 report by Astra Security: 

• Only 17% of small businesses have cyber and 48% of those waited until they were breached to purchase it 

• 14% of SMB’s have a cyber security plan 

• The average attack on SMB is $25,000 

The Libertate program includes: 

• $250,000 annual aggregate limit per client 

• $1,000 per-claim retention 

• No program aggregate limit 

• Coverage for breach notification, forensics, breach counsel, ransomware demands, cyber deception, and fraud events 

• Easy enrollment and no underwriting required 

Conclusion - The future of cyber security is proactive! 

Cyber threats won’t wait. Neither should client engagement.  

As carriers and brokers evolve their role from policy issuer to cyber partner, the message is clear: Clients are listening, but only if someone’s talking first.