How can MGAs help customers move from cyber awareness to cyber resilience?
Blog
Cyber awareness is rising. So why is the protection gap still growing? This is one of the questions HSB Cyber Exchange 2026 will explore on 19 November when insurance professionals from across the market gather in London to discuss the future of cyber risk.
Awareness of cyber threats has never been higher, but the cyber protection gap continues to grow. Greater awareness should lead to greater resilience. Instead, many individuals and small businesses remain vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats despite understanding the risks.
At HSB, we believe the issue is no longer a lack of awareness, but a false sense of preparedness. Many individuals and small businesses assume help will be available if something goes wrong. Others underestimate how rapidly threats are evolving, or overestimate their ability to respond effectively when an incident occurs.
This growing disconnect between risk and resilience is creating one of the most important and under-discussed issues facing the insurance industry today: the cyber protection gap.
Why awareness isn't enough
Cybercriminals are evolving rapidly. Artificial intelligence is enabling increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks, impersonation scams and deepfake fraud. Social engineering techniques continue to exploit trust and human behaviour, often with greater success than traditional technical attacks.
The challenge is no longer simply helping customers understand cyber risk exists, but helping them understand if they are adequately prepared. This is where many cyber resilience conversations can fall short. Customers often focus on whether they have cover or support in place, rather than whether it reflects today's threats, response requirements and expectations.
Asking the right questions can help uncover assumptions, identify vulnerabilities and build a clearer picture of cyber preparedness.
What does this mean for MGAs?
The growing cyber protection gap is exposing customers to risk in addition to raising important strategic questions for MGAs. As cyber risks evolve and customer expectations continue to change, MGAs should consider:
- Are emerging cyber risks within our target markets being adequately addressed by current propositions?
- How well do we understand the cyber resilience needs of our customers?
- Are we helping our distribution partners and customers understand cyber risks, or simply providing solutions after problems occur?
Three questions to ask your customers about cyber resilience
The cyber protection gap is not simply about technology. It's about assumptions. Many people know cybercrime happens, but far fewer have considered what would happen if they became victims.
These three questions can help start meaningful conversations with customers about cyber resilience and preparedness.
1. “If you experienced a cyber incident tomorrow, who would you call first?”
It's a simple question, but often a revealing one. Many people assume their bank, IT provider, software vendor or existing insurer will automatically step in to help. Others assume they will be able to resolve the issue themselves.
In reality, responsibilities can be fragmented and support may not always be as immediate or comprehensive as expected. Understanding where a customer would turn for help, how quickly support would be available and what gaps may exist can provide valuable insight into their overall level of preparedness.
Just as importantly, it can reveal whether customers have thought beyond the initial incident itself and considered who would help them navigate the financial, operational and potentially reputational consequences that can follow.
2. “Are your cyber risks changing faster than your protections?"
The cyber threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Criminals are constantly adapting their tactics whilst technology, customer behaviour and digital dependency continue to change.
For many customers, the safeguards they put in place several years ago may not reflect the risks they face today. A solution that felt appropriate when cyber threats were less sophisticated may no longer provide the same level of confidence or support. This can create a dangerous disconnect between perceived resilience and actual resilience, particularly if cyber arrangements are rarely reviewed or updated.
The key consideration is whether a customer’s approach to cyber resilience is evolving at the same pace as the threat environment itself.
3. "Are you prepared to prevent, respond, and recover?"
Many discussions about cyber resilience begin and end with what happens after an incident.
But resilience is much broader than recovery. Preventative education, awareness, incident response support and business continuity planning all play important roles alongside financial protection. A business that can identify a threat early, respond quickly and minimise disruption is often in a far stronger position than one focused solely on recovering losses afterwards.
By considering all three stages, prevention, response and recovery, customers can gain a more complete picture of their cyber resilience. It also helps shift the conversation from: "Am I prepared?" to "How well am I prepared if something goes wrong?"
The bigger question
Taken together, these questions point to a wider shift in how the insurance industry thinks about resilience. Have we focused so heavily on helping customers recover from cyber incidents that we've overlooked the growing need to help them understand, prevent and prepare for them?
Insurance will always have a critical role to play when something goes wrong. But as cyber risks continue to evolve, closing the protection gap may require a broader conversation about resilience, preparedness and customer education, not just financial recovery after an event. The organisations that succeed in this environment will be those that help customers avoid becoming victims in the first place, as well as helping them recover when incidents occur.
For MGAs, perhaps the most important question is this: Are you taking full advantage of cyber opportunities?
Continuing the conversation: HSB Cyber Exchange 2026 - 19 November, London
The growing cyber protection gap will be one of the themes we'll explore at HSB Cyber Exchange 2026 in London on 19 November. Introduced by Sunita Poll, Director of Strategic Partnerships at HSB, our event will feature Ali Kumcu, Global Head of Cyber at Munich Re, sharing insights into emerging cyber threats, evolving customer vulnerabilities, and the implications of an expanding protection gap.
Joining him will be Alex Wood, former cybercriminal and counter fraud specialist, offering a unique perspective on how modern criminals identify opportunities, exploit trust and adapt to technological change. His journey from cybercriminal to adviser provides a rare insight into the mindset behind today's attacks. Together, they will provide two perspectives rarely heard side-by-side on the future of cyber risk, emerging customer vulnerabilities, and what the insurance industry can do to help close the protection gap.
19 November 2026 | 17:30-22:00
Glaziers Hall, London, SE1 9DD