Stay Off the Naughty List: Small Habits With Big Impact on Cyber Insurance

December 18, 2025

Shhh! Come closer… I’ll let you in on a little secret. Insurers are much like Santa Claus.

They keep both a Nice List and a Naughty List, and they work diligently on them year-round.

Make the Nice List and you’re rewarded with stronger coverage, smoother underwriting, and more favorable premiums. End up on the Naughty List and well, my friend, it’s often far worse than a lump of coal.

How do I know all this? Let’s just say I’m something of an elf myself, a Cyber Elf.

So before the eggnog is poured and the out-of-office replies are switched on, let’s discuss the small cyber habits that make a real difference in insurance outcomes and help you stay off the Naughty List.

• Maintain Cyber Posture Year-Round: Insurers view consistent cyber posture as a signal of lower loss probability, often leading to smoother renewals and fewer underwriting constraints. With nearly 90% of data breaches linked to poor cybersecurity posture (SentinelOne), it’s critical to keep posture defensible, consistent, and visible year-round.

• Prioritize the Controls Cyber Insurers Expect: Insurers consistently prioritize foundational controls such as multi-factor authentication, secured and tested backups, endpoint protection, timely patching, and strong email security because they directly reduce loss probability. Focusing on these controls builds underwriting confidence and supports stronger coverage terms.

• Reduce Email Risk Before It Becomes a Claim: Email is the primary attack vector behind cyber insurance claims, with phishing and credential theft driving higher claim frequency and severity, making strong password hygiene and MFA essential.

• Make Security Improvements Visible to Insurers: Security improvements only influence cyber insurance outcomes if insurers can clearly see and verify them. Documented remediation and visible posture improvements help insurers avoid negative assumptions during underwriting and renewal.

Staying off the Naughty List does not require perfection, but it does require consistency, visibility, and discipline.

So this holiday season, don’t forget to keep your posture tidy and your assessments clean!

Sincerely,
Your Cyber Elf

Happy Holidays from the Veyrdune Team! Stay tuned for what’s next as we continue redefining how cyber risk is understood and managed.