By Robert Booker, Chief Strategy Officer at HITRUST

Having looked at this evolution of cybersecurity risk management from many roles and angles over the years, I can tell you that the cyber insurance market continues to experience deep transformative change, mirroring its cyber threat and attack counterparts' growth, complexity, and prevalence. What began as a narrow offering with limited scope and availability is now a critical risk management tool for many organizations across various industries.

This blog post examines this progression to reveal significant changes in cyber insurance coverage, premiums, exclusions, reporting requirements, response protocols, and actionable insights for organizations seeking optimal coverage at favorable rates.

The early days of cyber insurance

A decade ago, cyber insurance was an emerging market marked by a lack of information and standardization, resulting in inconsistency and uncertainty. Policies were often rudimentary and viewed as an afterthought, tacked on to broader business insurance plans as optional add-ons. Coverage was narrow in scope, primarily focusing on first-party losses like data breach notification costs and some legal liabilities. Furthermore, the underwriting process was haphazard, relying heavily on self-reported data, making it difficult for insurers to quantify cyber risks due to a lack of historical claims data and inconsistent security expectations.

Cyber insurance premiums during this early era were relatively low, reflecting both the limited coverage offered and an underestimation of the severity of the risk related to a successful cyberattack. Also helping to keep premiums low were the broad exclusions and clauses that frequently left significant coverage gaps. As one example, several early-stage policies excluded acts of cyber terrorism or nation-state attacks — exemptions that remain contentious even in today's cyber insurance market. We also saw response measures delivered ad hoc, with little emphasis on structured incident response, let alone post-breach recovery. The result was a situation where policyholders lacked complete confidence that the coverage they expected would support potential losses. There was also a lack of clarity in quantifying the premiums' value in reducing risks.

Key changes in cyber insurance

Expanded and specialized coverage

As bad actors and the cyber threats they sling have grown more sophisticated, so have the scope of cyber insurance coverage and the intricate details of the policies they create. Policies can now address various cyber risks, including ransomware payments, business interruption, regulatory fines, and reputational damage.

Some insurers have even introduced industry-specific products tailored to the risks that sectors like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing face.

Rising cyber insurance premiums and stringent underwriting

Unfortunately, the surge in high-profile breaches and ransomware attacks reported across many industries and corresponding losses has driven premiums upward. According to industry reports, cyber insurance premiums have increased by double-digit percentages annually in recent years.

Insurers now demand rigorous assessments of an organization's cybersecurity posture before offering coverage, often based on proprietary control expectations. As a result, an application for cyber insurance coverage and meeting with risk analysts with different perspectives and control expectations can become a significant exercise. After completing that work, the level of coverage and the details of the clauses are adjusted to meet the insurer's expectations and risk tolerance. This activity reflects a growing emphasis on proactive risk management, with nearly every insurer recognizing that poor cyber hygiene will significantly increase the likelihood of a claim. A lack of cyber maturity can lead to more events and higher payouts for these claims.

Evolving exclusions and clauses

Exclusions for nation-state attacks remain common. However, legal disputes have prompted insurers to clarify these specific clauses.

To this end, some policies now explicitly cover certain types of state-sponsored cyber incidents, albeit with nuanced limitations. Additionally, exclusions regarding policyholder negligence have become more explicit, incentivizing organizations to achieve and maintain strong baseline security measures.

Enhanced reporting and response requirements

Insurers are increasingly mandating robust incident reporting protocols as part of the terms they define in their policies. This shift aims to reduce a cyber incident's financial and operational impact by ensuring timely breach reporting and effective response coordination. Some policies now include access to insurer-provided incident response teams, legal counsel, and public relations support, offering policyholders a more comprehensive safety net in the event of an incident.

Navigating the modern cyber insurance market

For organizations seeking a cyber insurance policy, the path to obtaining coverage — and securing the best possible terms — requires deliberate preparation, strategic planning, and proactive actions.

• Strengthen cybersecurity posture: Insurers evaluate an organization's risk profile by assessing the client's cybersecurity practices. Implementing foundational cybersecurity controls such as multi-factor authentication, managed endpoint detection and response, third-party risk management, and regular employee training can demonstrate to the insurer that the organization maintains a proactive risk management program, leading to more favorable terms.
• Conduct regular risk assessments: Organizations should perform thorough assessments to understand their exposure to cyber risks. This analysis not only aids in selecting the right coverage but also informs insurers of the client's steps to mitigate vulnerabilities.
• Leverage third-party certifications: Investments in trusted frameworks and independent assurance, such as the HITRUST certification, provide standardized, credible proof of an organization's cybersecurity posture. These certifications can improve insurability, often resulting in improved coverage and lower premiums.
• Engage cybersecurity expertise: Partnering with third-party cybersecurity firms for penetration testing and other risk-based cyber audits can independently validate an organization's risk appetite and security posture. Completing this activity with a trusted partner will boost provable credibility with insurers.
• Understand and address policy details: Reviewing policy terms and conditions will prove essential in identifying exclusions, sub-limits, and reporting requirements. Engaging brokers or legal counsel with expertise in cyber insurance can help ensure policies align with organizational operations and cyber program development and implementation.
• Monitor regulatory compliance. Given the constantly increasing regulatory focus on data protection, staying abreast of and demonstrating compliance with frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA — plus the many others related to your industry and location — can enhance insurability and reduce liability exposure.

Insights for advancing the cyber insurance market

After several conversations over the past several months, it is my professional view that essential attributes, frameworks, and actions must be organized and prioritized to address existing system gaps for the cyber insurance market to thrive. The following are notable areas where improvements are necessary and can lead to significant benefits and provide maximum value to all stakeholders.

• Recognize the role of structured data: Reliable and standardized data is critical to improving underwriting accuracy. Structured data frameworks will allow insurers to better evaluate an organization's risk profile before providing coverage, reducing ambiguities, and enabling more consistent pricing. When insurers can access verified and transparent insights into risk management practices, they will gain confidence in their assessments. Increased visibility and confidence directly translate to better coverage options for organizations across industries of all shapes and sizes.
• Collaborate across departments: The complexity of cyber risks necessitates cooperation between several departments, including operations, finance, IT, and cybersecurity experts within organizations. Effective communication and a shared understanding of risks between these groups will ensure that organizations can clearly articulate their risk mitigation strategies to insurers so they can make the best policy decisions possible. An interdisciplinary approach simplifies the application process and fosters precision in aligning risk assessment and policy creation.
• Create predictable and reliable risk pools: Organizations adopting credible certifications or frameworks that align with industry standards will ultimately set themselves apart in the market, presenting as better bets for the insurers faced with tough decisions around which organizations they should provide coverage. By providing demonstrable proof of their cybersecurity posture, organizations will actively contribute to a more predictable and reliable risk pool for insurers, making this decision more data-driven. This predictability benefits all stakeholders by bringing consistency to cyber insurance coverage, stabilizing premiums, and encouraging insurers to offer more competitive terms.
• Simplify the insurance process: Organizations will experience streamlined application and underwriting processes when the above measures are applied. Improved clarity and less ambiguity, in turn, will reduce the administrative burdens on organizations, especially mid-sized businesses with limited resources. Increased transparency and more efficient processes will allow organizations to focus on their core operations while meeting the insurer's policy requirements. Automating data sharing and standardized assessments are critical steps in achieving this goal.
• Drive market-wide benefits: As the industry adopts these improvements, insurers will gain greater confidence in their underwriting decisions. On the other hand, insured organizations will experience reduced overhead and better policy outcomes. Collectively, the industry will benefit from stronger partnerships between insurers and policyholders and increased maturity across the board. By leveraging reliable data and simplified processes, the industry will create a culture of a virtuous cycle of trust and improved risk management. Ultimately, we can expect to see fewer breaches as well.

The realities of strategic cyber insurance are in your hands

The future of the cyber insurance market is in the hands of organizations ready to embrace change and innovation on both the insurer and insured sides. What was once a peripheral consideration has become a key risk management tool, offering organizational resilience. Organizations must take ownership of their cybersecurity posture to capitalize on the evolving market, guided by these insights and actionable principles.

By adopting a proactive and informed approach, organizations can secure coverage that protects against financial loss and strengthens their ability to respond to and recover from incidents. Organizations are empowered to shape a sustainable and resilient future in this complex market by aligning cybersecurity practices with insurer expectations and staying ahead of policy innovations.

Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) is fundamentally broken. It is supposed to provide visibility and control over vendor-related risks, but in practice, it leaves organizations overwhelmed and vulnerable.

One of the issues plaguing TPRM is remediation failure. Plans of remediation in TPRM often fail to translate into tangible risk reduction, leaving organizations with more exposure than they realize.

The follow-through problem in TPRM

Research indicates that organizations remediate only about 10% of the vulnerabilities they identify each month. This is not just a matter of negligence — it is a systemic failure caused by competing priorities, resource constraints, and an ever-growing vendor ecosystem that is too large to manage effectively. Organizations may have robust assessment processes in place, but they struggle to ensure third-party vendors actually follow through on remediation commitments. This results in a backlog of unmitigated risks that continue to accumulate, leaving organizations exposed to known threats that should have been addressed.

The illusion of risk reduction in vendor management

When vendors report that remediation is complete, organizations often lack the reporting mechanisms to verify and measure these efforts. Without proper tracking and accountability, there is no clear picture of whether remediation efforts have truly reduced risk. The lack of standardized third-party assurance only exacerbates the issue, making it difficult to hold vendors accountable and gain efficient visibility.

For example, a healthcare provider may identify vulnerabilities in a vendor’s remote access system and initiate a remediation plan. However, without structured follow-up through TPRM processes, there is no assurance that the vendor has taken the necessary corrective actions. In some cases, issues marked as “resolved” may persist due to miscommunication, incomplete implementation, or new dependencies that introduce similar vulnerabilities.

The continuous monitoring challenge in TPRM

Continuous monitoring is the ideal solution for ensuring remediation in TPRM that leads to lasting security improvements. By maintaining real-time visibility into third-party cyber risks, organizations can track vulnerabilities, measure remediation progress, and proactively address emerging threats. However, few organizations have the means to achieve this because

• TPRM programs are overwhelmed with too many vendors to monitor effectively.
• Many approaches, such as point-in-time assessments, provide only a partial view of risk.
• There is no universally accepted standard for vendor risk management, making consistency impossible.
• Third-party vendors lack incentives to provide sufficient assurance and transparency.

HITRUST helps address these challenges by providing a standardized and scalable framework for assessing vendor security postures. Unlike traditional compliance checklists, HITRUST ensures that security controls are continuously monitored and validated, offering a more dynamic and reliable approach to vendor risk management. Organizations leveraging HITRUST can enforce accountability through a well-defined and industry-accepted certification process that ensures vendors meet and maintain rigorous security standards.

Bridging the gap: Fixing TPRM to enable effective remediation

Organizations must address the broader failures to turn remediation in TPRM into a reality.

1. Prioritizing critical vendor vulnerabilities: Since remediating all vendor-related vulnerabilities is unrealistic, organizations must focus on those that pose the highest risk. Establishing clear prioritization criteria, based on threat intelligence rather than subjective opinions, ensures the most dangerous threats are addressed first.
2. Standardizing third-party assurance: Vendors must be held to consistent security and remediation standards. HITRUST certification provides a reliable mechanism for verifying vendor security postures, enforcing SLAs around remediation, and requiring real-time reporting on security controls.
3. Enhancing reporting and metrics: Organizations need robust reporting mechanisms that track vendor remediation efforts and their impact on overall risk reduction. HITRUST assurance mechanism helps establish clear, auditable metrics that go beyond self-attested compliance.
4. Simplifying stakeholder engagement: Too many stakeholders slow down remediation efforts. Organizations should streamline vendor management responsibilities and clarify ownership of risk mitigation tasks while leveraging HITRUST’s structured governance approach to simplify oversight.
5. Investing in continuous monitoring capabilities: While achieving true continuous monitoring is difficult, organizations can implement more frequent risk assessments, automated scanning, and real-time alerts to improve visibility into vendor risks. HITRUST integrates continuous monitoring requirements that provide an ongoing assessment of vendor compliance and security effectiveness.

Conclusion

Without structured follow-up, organizations become more vulnerable to third-party cyber risks, often without realizing it. HITRUST offers a viable path forward by providing a standardized and continuously monitored approach to TPRM. Remediation will remain an illusion until organizations adopt structured third-party assurances like HITRUST to address systemic flaws.

Cyber threats are increasing every year. Organizations need more than just compliance checkboxes. They need real security that works.

The 2025 HITRUST Trust Report provides evidence that HITRUST certification reduces cyber risk, strengthens security postures, and adapts to new challenges.

This year’s report highlights the proven effectiveness of HITRUST certifications, the comprehensive coverage of its framework, the expansion of AI assurances, and the continuous improvements customers experience with repeated HITRUST certifications. These insights demonstrate why HITRUST remains the most reliable and data-backed cybersecurity assurance provider.

Here are five key takeaways from the 2025 HITRUST Trust Report.

1. HITRUST is proven to reduce cyber risk

HITRUST certification protects from cyber threats better than any other security framework. The 2025 Trust Report provides measurable proof that HITRUST certifications are effective.

99.41% of HITRUST-certified environments remained breach-free in 2024. Only 0.59% of organizations with a HITRUST certification reported a security incident. This rate is significantly lower than industry averages.

No other cybersecurity assurance framework provides quantifiable proof that its certifications work. Many organizations rely on compliance reports that do not measure actual security performance. HITRUST takes a different approach. It requires certified entities to report breaches, allowing HITRUST to measure the effectiveness of its certifications.

Organizations that choose HITRUST are not just meeting compliance requirements, they are adopting a framework that has been proven to reduce cyber risk and protect sensitive data.

2. HITRUST stays ahead of emerging threats

Cyber threats constantly evolve. Security programs must keep pace with new tactics, techniques, and attack methods. The cyber threat-adaptive HITRUST framework is designed to adapt to these changes.

HITRUST continuously integrates data from top cyber threat intelligence sources to ensure its framework remains relevant. It addresses emerging threats before they become widespread risks. No other security framework makes such frequent updates to stay relevant.

HITRUST maps its framework to address 100% of the MITRE mitigations that can be controlled through cybersecurity defenses. It ensures its assessments provide the most comprehensive coverage to keep organizations ahead of cybercriminals.

3. HITRUST introduces AI security and risk management assurances

Organizations are using AI to become more efficient. But they struggle to assess AI-related threats, including data privacy risks, security vulnerabilities, and ethical concerns. HITRUST is leading the way in AI assurance. In 2024, HITRUST introduced two AI-related assessments.

• The AI Security Certification helps organizations prove that their AI models and platforms are built securely. This certification can be added to any HITRUST core certification, including e1, i1, or r2.

• The AI Risk Management Assessment allows organizations to evaluate and improve their AI risk management programs. It aligns with global standards like ISO/IEC and NIST.

Organizations need trustworthy and structured cybersecurity assurances as AI adoption increases. HITRUST is providing the tools they need to manage AI risks effectively.

4. HITRUST customers improve security

Achieving HITRUST certification is only the beginning. Maintaining strong security requires continuous improvement. The 2025 HITRUST Trust Report shows that customers undergoing repeated HITRUST certifications significantly strengthen their security postures over time.

In 2024, businesses maintaining HITRUST certifications experienced

• 54% fewer corrective actions in subsequent i1 certifications
• 32% fewer corrective actions in subsequent r2 certifications

HITRUST does not just provide an assessment; it creates a culture of continuous security improvement that helps organizations stay resilient in an evolving threat landscape.

5. HITRUST expands its framework for maximum security coverage

Organizations need a security framework that is comprehensive, adaptable, and built to address real-world challenges. The HITRUST framework continues to set the gold standard by expanding its coverage and integrating the most relevant security requirements.

The latest version, HITRUST CSF v11.4, harmonizes 60 authoritative sources, including HIPAA, NIST, and ISO. This represents a 36% increase from the previous year, ensuring organizations can meet multiple security, privacy, and compliance requirements within a single, unified framework.

HITRUST offers a comprehensive and scalable framework. Unlike fragmented approaches that require organizations to juggle multiple frameworks, HITRUST simplifies the process by consolidating the most critical standards into one powerful solution.

The future of trust in cybersecurity

The 2025 HITRUST Trust Report proves that HITRUST is a data-backed security assurance that reduces risk, adapts to evolving threats, and drives continuous improvement. Organizations that choose HITRUST gain more than a certification. They gain a proven security strategy that protects their data, enhances their security posture, and prepares them for the future.

Read the full 2025 Trust Report to learn more.