Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) and cyber insurers are increasingly working together to reduce breach risk and lower premium costs. MSSPs provide continuous monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and SOC services that measurably improve a client's security posture - giving insurers the confidence to offer premium discounts and more tailored, risk-reflective policy terms.
The cyber insurance market is expected to grow globally to reach a value over USD 120 billion by 2032, according to Mordor Intelligence's "Cyber Insurance Market Size and Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecasts (2024-2032)." The demand is evident and is being driven by multiple factors such as geopolitical and economic uncertainties, increasing state-sponsored attacks, and legislative drivers - including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) (Data Protection Act 2018), the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018, and the UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, introduced in the House of Lords in 2025, which will expand mandatory reporting obligations and the scope of regulated entities across UK businesses.
What Role Do MSSPs Play in Cyber Insurance?
Managed security service providers now play a recognised role in improving cyber insurance underwriting outcomes - with measurable benefits for all parties, especially the clients.
The UK NCSC's 10 Steps to Cyber Security framework demonstrates that organisations implementing documented security controls reduce their exposure to the most common attack types. Insurers increasingly reference frameworks such as ISO 27001, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF), and the CIS Controls as benchmarks when assessing a client's security posture at underwriting.
These efforts are now being recognised by forward-thinking insurers, and the clients benefit directly who take reasonable measures to improve and maintain a good cyber security posture. Industry surveys from Marsh and Munich Re suggest that businesses with documented, managed security controls can achieve premium reductions of 10-25% compared to peers with no formal security programme - a material commercial incentive that goes well beyond the risk management argument alone.
This works for both the client and the insurer. The client is investing in security controls to achieve an improved posture, and the insurer recognises the reduced likelihood of a claim from a cyber attack. Where a claim is made, the potential impact is hopefully reduced as a result of the improved security posture and planning undertaken in advance.
Speaking as a Managed Security Services Provider, we see on an ongoing basis the improvements made by clients on what is always termed the security maturation process - reductions in vulnerabilities, improved visibility of their estate, and an enhanced readiness for the eventuality of an attack.
The UK NCSC's cyber security guidance for businesses aligns directly with the controls an MSSP deploys, giving both clients and their insurers confidence in the validity of the approach.
Security Posture Tiers and Cyber Insurance Outcomes
| Security Posture Level | Typical Premium Band | Underwriting Requirements | Claim Likelihood | Example Insurer Appetite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal security controls | Highest available - often 2-5x the rate of a well-controlled peer; many carriers decline to quote entirely | MFA, EDR/AV, and patching often mandated before any quote is offered; declination common | Highest - disproportionately represented in ransomware and BEC claims | Very limited; CFC and Coalition use automated external scanning and flag open RDP, unpatched systems, or exposed credentials for loading or declination |
| Basic controls only (AV, firewall, patching) | Standard market rate; no discount | MFA on email and remote access (now near-universal mandatory requirement), basic EDR, tested backups | Moderate - BEC remains a significant risk even with basic controls if MFA is absent | Broad appetite; Hiscox, Markel, Chubb, and others quote at standard terms |
| ISO 27001 / CIS Controls aligned | 5-15% below standard rate (est.) | Documented ISMS, audit trail, vulnerability management programme, incident response plan; ISO 27001 certification or CIS Controls implementation triggers a premium credit with some carriers | Below average - framework-aligned organisations show materially lower loss frequencies | Strong appetite across all major carriers; eligible for higher limits and broader terms |
| MSSP-managed (SOC, vulnerability scanning) | 10-25% below standard rate (Marsh / Munich Re cited range) | Evidence of active SOC monitoring, regular vulnerability scanning reports, documented incident response capability; carriers such as Coalition and CFC accept security posture evidence directly from MSSPs | Low - continuous monitoring enables earlier detection and faster containment, reducing claim severity | Preferred risk class; eligible for broadest terms, highest limits, and lowest rates |
| MSSP-managed + cyber insurance partnership (Precursor / JMG model) | Maximum discount available; JMG-specific terms apply [see case study below] | Continuous evidence stream from Precursor to JMG underwriting; no separate documentation burden on client | Lowest - proactive security posture evidence means issues are identified pre-breach rather than post-claim | Tailored; JMG structures the policy around the verified security posture data from Precursor |
How Do MSSPs Protect Against Zero-Day Attacks?
A zero-day attack is an extremely dangerous attack - essentially a vulnerability that criminals can weaponise, but which software developers, clients, insurers, and pretty much everyone else is unaware of, or only just becoming aware of. These types of risks give businesses and insurers a significant problem and unfortunately occur relatively frequently.
MSSPs have a big part to play in trying to mitigate this risk. Where a client works with an MSSP that operates a 24x7 SOC (Security Operation Centre), the MSSP can inform clients of the existence of a zero-day upon its discovery. Furthermore, because the SOC has knowledge of the client's estate, it can inform the client as to their susceptibility to compromise. The SOC can take further steps where appropriate - checking for IOC (indicators of compromise), increasing monitoring around vulnerable assets, or working with the client to proactively take the affected piece of software offline until a patch is available.
For insurers, this enhanced capability demonstrated by a client working with an MSSP within a SOC can be considered a proactive approach to cyber security - and policy quotes can be made reflective of the steps taken.
How Does Continuous Vulnerability Scanning Reduce Insurance Risk?
Continuous attack surface management, coupled with active vulnerability scanning, can give organisations a view of the technical vulnerabilities at play across their estate on an ongoing basis. Discovery of, and subsequent active scanning of, the externally facing aspects constitutes a large component of Continuous Security Testing (CST), giving clients the ability to view their organisation through the eyes of attackers and discover change and defects prior to their exploitation by malicious parties.
Businesses make IT changes for a multitude of valid reasons. The issue for clients and for insurers is that any one of these changes could inadvertently introduce a vulnerability into the client's estate. For large organisations, a fluid external footprint makes this even harder to manage. Attackers will identify this quickly and attempt to exploit it. MSSPs can perform regular asset discovery and vulnerability scanning and advise clients on anything that might present an issue.
Research from Qualys and Rapid7 illustrates the urgency. Rapid7's 2024 Mid-Year Threat Review reported that approximately 53% of widely exploited Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) were exploited within seven days of public disclosure. Qualys's 2024 TruRisk Research Report found that the median time to exploit high-severity CVEs was 19 days from public disclosure. This rapid weaponisation makes continuous scanning a material risk control rather than a best-practice aspiration.
According to Beazley's Breach Insights reporting, ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) are consistently the two most common claim triggers - both of which continuous monitoring and vulnerability scanning directly address. Attackers have automated their scanning for vulnerabilities, and automation for the defending teams is equally a must-have capability.
What Is the Future of MSSP and Cyber Insurance Collaboration?
Managed security and cyber insurance integration is now standard practice in the market. Lloyd's of London, through its Market Association's Cyber Underwriting Group, has published guidance referencing documented security controls as underwriting criteria, and Lloyd's Market Bulletin Y5258 (August 2022) set minimum conditions for systemic risk coverage across all Lloyd's syndicates writing cyber policies. Carriers including Coalition and CFC Underwriting have moved further still, building automated external attack surface scanning directly into their underwriting workflows - meaning that a client's security posture is assessed continuously, not just at renewal. The trajectory is clear: insurers are moving towards real-time, evidence-based underwriting, and MSSPs are the natural counterpart to that model.
AI-driven risk scoring and continuous posture assessment will be at the forefront of these efforts - including AI-assisted risk scoring that draws on continuous telemetry from MSSP platforms to adjust underwriting criteria in near real-time.
We have been working with JMG Group and a select panel of specialist cyber insurance companies to create an innovative and proactive approach to this collaboration. The partnership addresses a specific underwriting gap: insurers had no reliable mechanism to differentiate risk between clients with managed security and those without, at the point of underwriting. Two businesses in the same sector, with the same turnover, could receive identical policy terms despite radically different security postures.
The Precursor/JMG model addresses this directly. We provide JMG with ongoing security posture evidence - continuous vulnerability scanning data, SOC monitoring records, and incident response readiness indicators - drawn from our work with the client. JMG uses this verified evidence to adjust underwriting criteria and structure a policy that reflects the client's actual risk profile rather than a sector average. The result is that businesses utilising Precursor's SOC and managed detection and response services are entitled to reduced cyber insurance premiums through JMG, with premium discounts reflecting the documented security posture improvements we deliver. If you would like to understand the specific discount available to your organisation, contact us directly - the figure is tailored to each client's posture profile and the policy structure JMG puts in place.
"This is the model that both the cyber security and insurance industries have been moving towards - continuous, evidence-based underwriting that rewards investment in managed security and makes the financial case for that investment undeniable."
What Does a Cyber Insurance Policy Cover?
Cyber insurance is designed to protect businesses and individuals from threats in the digital age, covering both malicious and non-malicious cyber incidents. It provides financial reimbursement in the event of an incident but also additional benefits such as risk management solutions, pre- and post-breach advice and support ranging from public relations to legal counsel and digital forensics.
Specialist carriers such as Coalition, Beazley, and CFC Underwriting have been at the forefront of developing security-linked underwriting criteria that directly reward clients working with MSSPs - making the choice of managed security provider increasingly relevant to the terms a business can achieve at renewal.
A comprehensive cyber policy will look to provide cover for the following areas:
| Coverage Area | What It Covers | MSSP Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Network security and privacy liability | Third-party claims arising from a breach | Reduced by SOC monitoring and incident response readiness |
| Media liability | Content-related digital claims | Indirect |
| Regulatory defence and penalties | UK GDPR / NIS Regulations fines and legal costs | Reduced by framework alignment (ISO 27001, NIST CSF) |
| Crisis and event management costs | PR, legal, and communications response | Reduced by pre-breach planning and documented response capability |
| Ransomware and extortion | Ransom payments and negotiation costs | Directly reduced by vulnerability scanning and continuous monitoring |
| Business interruption | Revenue loss during downtime | Reduced by rapid SOC detection and containment |
| Contingent business interruption | Supply chain or third-party outage | Reduced by supply chain risk visibility |
| Computer replacement and bricking | Hardware replacement costs | Reduced by early threat containment |
| Social engineering fraud | Business email compromise and impersonation losses | Reduced by awareness programmes and email monitoring |
If your current security programme includes managed SOC monitoring and vulnerability scanning, you may already qualify for better terms than your current policy reflects. Find out whether your security posture qualifies you for reduced premiums - contact Precursor Security.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the relationship between MSSPs and cyber insurance?
MSSPs and cyber insurers work together by sharing security posture evidence that enables more accurate, risk-reflective underwriting. An MSSP provides continuous SOC monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and incident response capability. Insurers use this documented evidence to assess a client's actual risk exposure and offer premium discounts to businesses that demonstrate a managed, proactive security posture compared to unmanaged peers in the same sector.
Can working with an MSSP reduce my cyber insurance premium?
Yes. Industry surveys from Marsh and Munich Re suggest that businesses with documented, managed security controls can achieve premium reductions of 10-25% compared to peers with no formal security programme. The exact reduction depends on the insurer, the specific controls in place, and how the evidence of those controls is communicated at underwriting. Partnerships such as the Precursor/JMG model are designed to make that evidence flow systematic and automatic, removing the documentation burden from the client.
What security frameworks do cyber insurers look for when underwriting?
Insurers increasingly reference ISO 27001, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF), and the CIS Controls as benchmarks when assessing a client's security posture. Certification or documented alignment with these frameworks typically triggers a premium credit with major carriers. The UK NCSC's 10 Steps to Cyber Security guidance provides a practical baseline that aligns with the controls an MSSP deploys on behalf of its clients.
What are the most common triggers for cyber insurance claims?
According to Beazley's Breach Insights reporting, ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) are consistently the two most frequent claim triggers by volume. Ransomware typically dominates by claim value. Both are directly addressed by continuous monitoring and vulnerability scanning - which is why MSSP-managed clients are a preferred risk class for specialist cyber carriers.
What does cyber insurance cover for UK businesses?
A comprehensive UK cyber insurance policy typically covers: network security and privacy liability (third-party breach claims), regulatory defence and penalties (including UK GDPR and NIS Regulations fines), crisis and event management costs (PR and legal response), ransomware and extortion, business interruption, contingent business interruption (supply chain), computer replacement, and social engineering fraud. The specific scope varies by carrier and policy - specialist insurers such as Coalition, Beazley, and CFC Underwriting offer terms that explicitly reward businesses with managed security controls in place.