This article is part of VentureBeat’s special issue, “The cyber resilience playbook: Navigating the new era of threats.” Read more from this special issue here.Today’s cyber attacks can be paralyzing — and extremely costly — for modern enterprises. Armed with AI, hackers are exploiting vulnerabilities faster than ever.However, standard business insurance products such as general or professional liability policies (errors and omissions, or EO) typically don’t cover losses or damages as the result of breaches or other cyber-related incidents. This makes cybersecurity insurance increasingly critical in 2025 and beyond, particularly as AI transforms (and simplifies) hackers’ methodologies. Cybersecurity-specific insurance policies cover a range of remediation cost and recovery efforts to help enterprises limit damage, recover faster and improve their overall cyber hygiene. But as with any other type of coverage, cyber insurance can be complicated to navigate and full of legalese and loopholes. Let’s go over the basics, why it’s important, what to look for and what trends to expect this year as AI takes center stage. So what does cyber insurance cover?Typically, cyber policies offer coverage for first-party (direct losses) and third-party (outside the business) damages. General coverage includes:. Business interruptions: Lost revenue when an attack takes systems offline;Attack remediation: Incident response, forensic investigations or system repairs;Customer notification and reputation management: Automated alerts when customers’ personally identifiable information (PII) may have been accessed; credit monitoring and breach hotlines; PR work to help repair the brand;Legal expenses: Litigation as the result of a breach (such as lawsuits filed by customers or vendors), what’s known as “duty to defend”;Regulatory action: Investigations that require legal services and potential fines. In the case of ransomware, it’s important to note that, while providers have covered payouts in the past, many are backing off of this practice because hackers are demanding more and regulators are scrutinizing

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodruff Sawyer, one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in the US, announced today the release of the 2025 Cyber Looking Ahead Guide. A competitive market has driven down cyber insurance costs, allowing many businesses to reduce their premiums. Looking ahead, Woodruff Sawyer expects pricing to remain stable to moderately lower in 2025, despite mixed expectations from underwriters. However, even as the market offers some relief for buyers, the underlying cyber risk landscape continues to grow more volatile. Download the Guide                    Attend the 2/4 webinar. Evolving Cyber Threats and Rising Risk Factors