What Your Bank Examiner Will Ask About Insurance
The question used to be: "Do you have cyber insurance?"
Now it's: "How do you know your cyber insurance is adequate?"
Most banks can't answer that.
Examiners Want to See Four Things
The FFIEC IT Examination Handbook treats cyber insurance as part of the bank's information security program. In practice, examiners look for evidence in four areas.
Board-Level Coverage Review
The board should articulate what the cyber policy covers and doesn't cover. "Our broker recommended this" is not a review.
Limits Aligned to Risk
A $1M cyber policy for a $500M bank raises questions. Examiners expect documented rationale for coverage limits.
Security Warranty Compliance
Your carrier requires specific controls as conditions of coverage. If your IT environment doesn't match, the carrier can deny a claim.
Policy Interactions
A ransomware attack, wire fraud loss, and board investigation touch all three policies. Which one responds to which part?
How to Prepare Your Insurance for the Examination
Pull your carrier's security warranty requirements from your cyber insurance application. Compare every required control to your most recent IT audit findings.
What your policy covers, key sublimits, major exclusions. One page. Plain language. Updated at renewal. When the examiner asks whether the board reviewed coverage, this is your answer.
Ransomware, wire fraud, vendor breach, data breach, regulatory investigation. Document which policy (cyber, bond, D&O) responds to each.
The Risk Intelligence Report can help you prepare. It maps policy interactions and produces board-ready documentation with dollar amounts and specific fixes.
Developed with input from a former OCC and NYDFS bank examiner's perspective that shaped how findings are documented and prioritized.
Get a Head Start on Your Examiner's Questions
The Risk Intelligence Report reads your policies, maps coverage against claim scenarios, and produces board-ready documentation. One report. Plain English.
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