9. June 2026

Cyber Essentials and Insurance: What UK Businesses Need to Know

Cyber insurance is becoming part of normal business risk management for many UK organisations.

Insurers, brokers, customers and suppliers may ask what cyber security controls are in place before they offer cover, renew a policy or assess a business relationship. For smaller organisations, this can create a practical question: what evidence can we provide to show that we take cyber security seriously?

Cyber Essentials can help answer that question.

It does not replace insurance advice, and it does not guarantee that an insurer will offer cover. However, it can provide a recognised way to show that your organisation has implemented key baseline cyber security controls.

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a UK cyber security certification scheme based on five core technical control areas:

Firewalls
Secure configuration
User access control
Malware protection
Security update management

The scheme is designed to help organisations protect themselves against common internet-based cyber threats.

For many SMEs, Cyber Essentials is a practical starting point because it focuses on controls that reduce common and avoidable cyber risks. It is also increasingly recognised by customers, public sector buyers, supply chains and insurers.

Why cyber insurance providers may care about Cyber Essentials

Cyber insurance providers need to understand the risk they are being asked to cover.

That means they may ask questions about:

How systems are protected
Whether software is kept up to date
How user accounts are managed
Whether multi-factor authentication is used
How malware risks are controlled
Whether the organisation has basic cyber security policies and procedures
How incidents would be handled

Cyber Essentials can help because it gives a structured answer to some of these questions.

It shows that the organisation has reviewed its basic technical controls against a recognised standard. This can support insurance discussions, supplier assurance checks and customer due diligence.

Does Cyber Essentials include insurance?

For some organisations, Cyber Essentials certification may include cyber liability insurance as part of the scheme.

This is subject to eligibility criteria. For example, the organisation must be UK-domiciled, have an annual turnover under the relevant threshold, and certify the whole organisation rather than only a limited part of it.

Businesses should always check the current scheme rules, insurance terms and eligibility requirements before relying on any included cover.

Cyber Essentials should not be treated as a replacement for reviewing your own insurance needs with a suitable broker or insurer.

Cyber Essentials does not remove the need for wider risk management

Cyber Essentials is a strong baseline, but it is not a complete cyber security programme.

Insurance providers may still ask about areas such as:

Incident response planning
Business continuity arrangements
Backup testing
Staff awareness training
Supplier risk management
Data protection controls
Privileged access management
Logging and monitoring
Previous incidents or claims

This means Cyber Essentials should be treated as part of a wider risk management approach.

For many SMEs, the sensible route is to use Cyber Essentials as a foundation and then build additional controls around the organisation’s real risks, systems, contracts and insurance requirements.

Why this matters for SMEs

Many SMEs do not have large IT or compliance teams.

When insurance, customer assurance or supplier onboarding questions arrive, they may struggle to provide clear evidence of what controls are in place.

Cyber Essentials can help by giving the organisation a structured certification route. It can also highlight practical gaps that need to be addressed, such as unsupported software, weak access control, missing multi-factor authentication or unclear device management.

This is useful because insurance discussions are often evidence-led. It is easier to answer questions when the organisation has already reviewed its controls, documented its position and taken corrective action.

Common mistakes businesses make

Businesses often run into problems when they treat Cyber Essentials as a form-filling exercise.

Common issues include:

Assuming certification is only an IT task
Not checking whether all devices and cloud services are in scope
Overlooking administrator accounts
Using unsupported software
Failing to apply security updates promptly
Not understanding shared responsibility for cloud services
Relying on policies that do not match actual practice
Waiting until an insurance renewal or contract deadline before checking readiness

These issues can slow down certification and create avoidable pressure.

A short readiness review before submitting can help identify gaps early.

How Cyber Essentials can support insurance readiness

Cyber Essentials can support insurance readiness by helping organisations:

Confirm basic security controls are in place
Identify gaps before an insurer, customer or supplier asks about them
Provide evidence of a recognised cyber security baseline
Demonstrate a structured approach to common cyber risks
Support conversations with brokers, insurers and procurement teams
Improve confidence before completing cyber insurance questionnaires

The value is not only the certificate. The value is the discipline of checking the controls properly and making sure the organisation can explain what is in place.

How Positive Cyber Solutions can help

Positive Cyber Solutions is an IASME licensed Cyber Essentials Certification Body and supports organisations with Cyber Essentials certification, readiness and practical gap analysis.

If your organisation needs Cyber Essentials for insurance, supplier assurance, procurement or customer requirements, it is worth checking readiness before you submit. Many businesses find that the assessment raises questions about devices, software updates, user access, cloud services and responsibilities between the organisation and its IT provider.

To help businesses prepare, PCS is running a Cyber Essentials Readiness Workshop in Cardiff.

The workshop is designed to help organisations understand the Cyber Essentials requirements, identify common readiness gaps and consider practical next steps before applying for certification. It is suitable for business owners, directors, operations managers, compliance leads and anyone involved in preparing their organisation for Cyber Essentials.

The session will cover:

What Cyber Essentials is and why businesses are asked for it
The five Cyber Essentials control areas
Common issues that can delay certification
What information may be needed from internal teams or IT providers
Practical next steps before submitting an assessment

PCS does not provide insurance advice. Businesses should speak to a suitable broker or insurer about cover, exclusions and policy terms.

Next step

If your organisation is considering Cyber Essentials, or has been asked to obtain certification by an insurer, supplier, customer or procurement process, the workshop provides a practical starting point.

Book your place on the Cyber Essentials Readiness Workshop in Cardiff