Make Cyber Insurance Part of Every Commercial Conversation

• September 28, 2026

By Keith Savino

Who needs cyber insurance? Here is the definitive response: If a business has customers; a bank account; information about current or past customers, prospects, current or past employees anywhere in their care, custody or control; or, direct or indirect reliance on operational technologies, it has a cyber exposure. In short, it’s 100% of your insureds. 

Small business owners often assume cybercriminals target bigger companies, but Main Street is under attack every day. The local restaurant, dry cleaner, contractor or retailer holds information and money with far less controls.  

Artificial intelligence (AI) is only making the threat more accessible and scalable. Threat actors use AI to quickly spoof legitimate websites, send convincing emails containing malicious links or create false invoices. In 2026, the average breach cost of an AI model inversion attack is $6 million, according to an IBM report.

Cyber insurance should no longer be something independent insurance agents only bring up with technology companies, larger accounts or clients that ask about it. Agents should quote it for every small commercial client, every time.  

Explaining Cyber Coverage 

Agents need to help clients understand that cyber insurance provides a vast array of protections. There are many expenses that form a cyber loss and most small businesses cannot afford to cover the costs. Basic insurance liability claims begin with a demand for damages or a lawsuit. But you don’t need to be sued to start a cyber claim. If you turn on your computer to the blue screen of death caused by a ransomware attack, you have a claim.

Businesses also don’t have to be attacked to suffer a cyber loss. Dependent business interruption is real. A restaurant can lose access to its point-of-sale system because a vendor is breached. An online retailer can lose sales when its hosting provider goes down. A car or boat dealer can’t close deals when their financing platform is offline for days. A farmer can’t tend their crops if their operational technologies are offline.

In addition to covering losses, cyber insurance also gives businesses access to professionals who can help handle additional fallout, including fixing security issues and working through reputational damage.

What if an employee loses a company laptop? A business owner’s first thought might be, “I’ll just go buy another one.” But what information was on that laptop? Are there regulatory obligations? What happens if someone calls and says they have the computer and demands money? With cyber coverage, the business owner can report the incident immediately and get guidance on the next steps they hadn’t considered.

Independent agents are uniquely positioned to close the education gap for clients because they already understand their clients’ businesses and exposures. But conversations need to avoid technical jargon and instead highlight situations owners can immediately understand. 

Focus on the real business impact on the client’s specific class of business. Ask questions to highlight the risk. Does your client know what happens if someone impersonates their business online? What if an employee clicks a phishing link? What if money intended for a vendor is redirected? What if a critical technology provider goes down?

From there, the agent can explain not only what insurance may cover, but the response resources that may be available when something goes wrong.

Agents should also help clients understand what they are buying by comparing an aggregate versus per-event limit,first andthird-party limits, and artificial intelligence (AI) coverages. The conversation can also extend beyond insurance into practical ways clients can reduce their exposures, including employee education and training, and multifactor authentication. 

Building Cyber Into an Agent’s Process

Education alone isn’t enough. Agencies need a consistent process for offering cyber coverage. Quoting cyber no longer requires lengthy, complicated applications. Today, agents targeting the small business space can obtain a quote with just a few pieces of information. Agencies should put practices and workflows in place to consistently offer cyber coverage to every commercial client and document the company’s decision.

That does three things. First, it helps protect the client against an increasingly common business exposure. Second, it helps the agency demonstrate that the coverage was offered, limiting its errors & omissions exposure. And third, it creates an organic growth opportunity within the agency’s existing book of business.

Today, cyber is a normal and standard line of business. It belongs to the pizza place, contractor, doctor’s office, accountant and retailer down the street. Agents already talk to those businesses about property, liability, workers compensation and other risks that could disrupt what they’ve built. Cyber belongs in that same conversation, and the simplest way to make sure it happens is to quote it every time.

Keith Savino is U.S. CEO of Emergence Insurance, a cyber insurance provider focused on helping small and mid-sized businesses manage cyber risk through innovative insurance solutions, cyber resilience services and strong distribution partnerships.

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