Cyber liability has gone from optional add-on to contract requirement in just a few years. Client agreements, vendor onboarding forms, and even some professional liability applications now ask whether you carry it. The good news: for most small professional firms, cyber coverage costs less than people expect — the market has matured, and carriers compete hard for low-risk accounts.
What small firms typically pay
Cyber pricing is driven by revenue, industry, the kind of data you hold, and your security basics (multi-factor authentication matters more than any other single answer on the application).
| Business profile | Typical annual premium range* |
|---|---|
| Solo professional, minimal client data, $1M limit | ~$250 – $600 |
| Small firm, client PII on file, $1M limit | ~$500 – $1,200 |
| Firm handling financial or health data, $1M–$2M limits | ~$1,000 – $2,500 |
| Higher-revenue or prior-incident accounts | ~$2,500+ |
*Illustrative market ranges based on typical small-business placements; your premium depends on revenue, limits, claims history, and carrier appetite. Not a quote or offer of coverage.
What the policy actually covers
A well-built cyber policy has two halves. First-party coverage pays your own costs after an incident — breach response, forensics, notification, ransomware negotiation, and lost income while systems are down. Third-party cyber liability pays when clients or partners claim your breach harmed them. Small-business policies bundle both; the split matters when you compare quotes, because two policies with the same headline limit can carry very different sublimits underneath.
What moves your price down
Three answers on a cyber application do most of the work: multi-factor authentication on email and remote access, tested backups kept separate from your network, and no prior incidents. Firms that can answer yes to all three typically see both better pricing and more carrier options. Beyond that, the usual levers apply — a higher retention lowers premium, and right-sizing your limit to what contracts actually require avoids paying for capacity you do not need.
Do you need cyber if you already have E&O?
Yes, if you hold any client data — the two policies answer different questions. E&O responds when your professional work allegedly harmed a client; cyber responds when your systems or data are compromised. A stolen laptop full of client files is a cyber claim, not an E&O claim. Many of the carriers we work with will quote both together, which usually beats buying them separately.
Get cyber and E&O quotes together — one application, up to 10 A-rated carriers.
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