Cyber Insurance Renewal UK 2025

Introduction

In 2025, the UK cyber insurance market has entered a new phase. Premiums may have dipped — down 7–12% in Q1 2025 due to increased insurer competition — but the bar for renewal has never been higher.

Key statistics frame this shift:

• 43% of UK businesses reported cyber incidents in the past year.
• For large enterprises, that number rose to 74%.
• 60.8% of SMEs still lack cyber insurance coverage, despite rising risks.
• Customers reported that the most valued content was practical checklists they could take to boardrooms.
• SMEs specifically wanted quick wins to act on before renewal deadlines.

At the same time, regulation has reshaped the renewal process:

• The UK Cyber Governance Code of Practice (April 2025) now requires evidence of board-level cyber oversight.
• The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will enforce mandatory incident reporting across sectors.

What does this mean for UK businesses? Renewal is no longer just an administrative hurdle — it has become a strategic governance exercise, where boards, CISOs, and insurers meet at the same table.

Since 1999, ProCheckUp has guided UK organisations through this evolution. Today, we stand at the crossroads of insurance, regulation, and resilience, helping clients prove their cyber maturity with clarity, evidence, and sector-specific insight.

What Underwriters Now Demand in 2025

Underwriters have shifted from broad questionnaires to evidence-driven scrutiny, with requirements that vary across sectors. From ProCheckUp’s customer review, five consistent demand areas emerged — now tailored to sector realities.

1. External Attack Surface Visibility

• Financial Services: Continuous monitoring of exposed services, with independent validation to satisfy regulators and insurers.
• Local Government: Identification of shadow IT and forgotten subdomains, which insurers flagged as common renewal blockers.
• Healthcare: Assurance that patient portals and remote access systems are hardened and actively monitored.

2. Ransomware Resilience

• Financial Services: Mandatory MFA across trading and payment platforms, with documented exemption risk assessments.
• Manufacturing: Evidence of segregated backups that can restore operations within RTOs; insurers increasingly request test logs.
• Healthcare: AI-powered endpoint detection (EDR/XDR) to protect critical clinical systems from disruption.

3. Incident Response Preparedness

• All Sectors: Written plans are no longer enough — insurers require tested IR playbooks.
• Financial Services: Board-signed evidence of tabletop exercises.
• Local Government: Escalation logs aligned with the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
• Healthcare: Coordination with NHS/NCSC reporting channels, demonstrating real-world drill participation.

4. Supply Chain & Vendor Risk

• Financial Services: Documented due diligence on SaaS and fintech vendors.
• Local Government: Insurers expect vendor security clauses and monitoring of outsourced IT service providers.
• Healthcare: Supplier continuity planning, especially for medical device and software providers.

5. Evidence-Based Posture Validation

• All underwriters now expect alignment with frameworks such as Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, and the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework.
• Financial Services: Insurers favour firms with ISO 27001 certification and third-party penetration test reports.
• SMEs: Cyber Essentials Plus has become a minimum expectation for renewal.

6. Board-Level Cyber Governance

• With the UK Cyber Governance Code of Practice (April 2025), underwriters demand:
  • Documented board-level training records.
  • Minutes showing cyber risk reporting.
  • Integration with enterprise risk frameworks.
• In practice, this is where many firms — especially SMEs — fall short, creating renewal risks.

Why Firms Are Struggling With Renewal

From ProCheckUp’s customer review, a clear pattern has emerged: both SMEs and enterprises struggle with renewal, but for different reasons.

SMEs: Resource & Awareness Gaps

• 60.8% of SMEs in the UK still lack cyber insurance coverage, and many of those that do have policies face steep renewal challenges.
• Common issues:
  • No formal board oversight of cyber risk.
  • Lack of up-to-date vulnerability scans.
  • Missing documentation of supplier due diligence.
• Feedback from SME clients: “We didn’t realise insurers wanted screenshots, logs, and real proof — not just policies.”

Enterprises: Governance & Complexity Gaps

• While large enterprises often have mature frameworks, 43% still reported breaches in the last year, rising to 74% for the largest organisations.
• Issues faced:
  • Difficulty aligning global subsidiaries with UK-specific requirements.
  • Disjointed reporting structures (CISO data not consistently reaching the board).
  • Underwriters questioning the freshness of assessments (annual reviews viewed as stale).
• Feedback from enterprise clients: “Our problem isn’t lack of controls — it’s showing underwriters that our controls are consistent and evidenced everywhere.”

Cross-Sector Renewal Risks Identified

1. Evidence Gaps: Written policies without supporting logs or reports are rejected.
2. Stale Assessments: Insurers expect continuous monitoring, not once-a-year audits.
3. Supply Chain Blind Spots: Both SMEs and enterprises struggle to prove vendor oversight.
4. Board-Level Disconnects: Many firms cannot demonstrate that cyber is embedded in governance, despite the Cyber Governance Code of Practice (2025) requiring it.

How ProCheckUp Helps Meet Insurer Demands

At ProCheckUp, we translate underwriter requirements into clear, actionable evidence. With over 25 years of experience in penetration testing and cyber assurance, we provide UK organisations with exactly what insurers demand in 2025: independent, verifiable proof of resilience.

Our Support Model

1. CyberSnapShot Rapid External Posture Reviews

• Identify internet-facing assets, shadow IT, and vulnerabilities.
• Deliver insurer-ready reports within 48 hours, preventing renewal delays.

2. Evidence Packaging for Insurers

• Logs, screenshots, and third-party attestations for underwriter questionnaires.
• Executive-friendly reporting for boards, technical appendices for CISOs.

3. Continuous Monitoring

• Lightweight, recurring checks that keep evidence fresh — eliminating the “stale assessment” risk underwriters increasingly reject.

4. Board & Governance Alignment

• Provide governance reporting aligned to the UK Cyber Governance Code of Practice (2025).
• Demonstrate board training completion and cyber risk integration into enterprise governance.

Sector Case Studies

• Financial Services (London): A mid-sized firm reduced premiums by 15% after ProCheckUp identified and remediated shadow IT within 30 days. Insurer confidence rose due to rapid posture validation.
• Local Government: A council facing renewal rejection for lack of supply chain assurance passed renewal successfully after ProCheckUp implemented a vendor risk register and monitoring controls.
• Healthcare: A provider at risk due to ransomware exposure secured coverage by adopting ProCheckUp’s AI-powered EDR assessment and demonstrating tested backup restores.

Quick Wins for 2025 Renewal

From customer feedback, insurers most valued:

• Screenshots of MFA enforcement across privileged accounts.
• Logs of backup restore tests proving operational resilience.
• Incident response tabletop results with board involvement.
• Vendor due diligence documentation for critical suppliers.

Secure Your 2025 Renewal with Confidence

Cyber insurance renewal in 2025 is no longer about forms and checkboxes. Underwriters now demand evidence-backed assurance — logs, reports, governance proof, and continuous monitoring.

This new standard creates challenges, but also opportunities:

• Firms demonstrating verifiable resilience often achieve lower premiums.
• Boards using insurer-ready evidence improve regulatory standing and stakeholder trust.
• Organisations with continuous monitoring position themselves for faster renewals and reduced disruption.

For over 25 years, ProCheckUp has helped UK businesses translate cyber maturity into measurable outcomes. From penetration testing to insurer-ready posture reviews, we ensure you not only meet but exceed underwriter expectations.

Free Download: 2025 Cyber Insurance Renewal Checklist

To support your renewal journey, ProCheckUp has created a free downloadable checklist covering:

• MFA enforcement proof points.
• Backup restore test evidence.
• Incident response tabletop records.
• Vendor due diligence essentials.
• Board-level cyber governance requirements.

📥 Download the checklist here