A few years ago, getting cyber liability insurance meant filling out a one-page form. In 2026, carriers have paid out enough ransomware claims that they now audit your IT controls before they will write or renew a policy. If you cannot check the boxes, you face higher premiums, coverage exclusions, or outright denial.
We help clients complete these questionnaires every month. Here is what almost every carrier now requires, and what each item actually means in practice.
The 2026 Carrier Checklist
- MFA everywhere. Not just on email. Carriers now ask about MFA on remote access, admin accounts, and cloud consoles. SMS codes increasingly do not count; they want app-based or phishing-resistant methods.
- EDR on every endpoint. Traditional antivirus no longer qualifies. Carriers ask for endpoint detection and response by name, such as Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
- Tested, separated backups. Backups must be offsite or immutable, and the application asks when you last performed a test restore. "We think it works" is not an answer.
- Formal offboarding. Carriers ask how quickly access is revoked when an employee leaves. Lingering accounts are one of the most common breach entry points.
- Patching cadence. You will be asked how quickly critical vulnerabilities are patched, and some carriers expect documentation that proves it.
- Email security and training. Anti-phishing controls and periodic security awareness training for staff.
Why Honest Answers Matter
It is tempting to check "yes" on everything and move on. Do not. If you file a claim and the carrier discovers a control you attested to was not actually in place, they can deny the claim entirely. Businesses have lost six-figure payouts over an MFA answer that was aspirational rather than accurate.
The questionnaire is effectively a legal document. Answer it from evidence, not from memory.
How to Pass Without the Panic
Every requirement on that list is standard practice in a well-managed Microsoft environment: Conditional Access for MFA, Defender for Endpoint for EDR, Intune for patch compliance, and automated offboarding workflows. If your IT is set up properly, the questionnaire takes twenty minutes and your premium quotes come back lower.
AventixIT builds these controls into every managed plan, and we fill out the technical sections of insurance questionnaires with our clients so every answer is backed by evidence. Many clients have seen renewal premiums drop after switching to a documented security baseline.
Book a free security assessment and we will map your current controls against a real 2026 carrier checklist, then show you exactly what needs to change before your next renewal.