Do you know what to do when you’re in the thick of a cyber-attack? Do you have your incident response (IR) team on speed dial? If you don’t have an incident response retainer, you could be setting your organization up for costly losses and downtime in the event of an attack.
Before we go any further, if you don’t already have cyber insurance, here is a quick “getting it right” guide as to why it matters and how it can help. Cyber insurance provides financial protection against losses from cyber incidents — such as data breaches, extortion, and business interruption.
According to the 2026 GRIT Ransomware and Cyber Threat Report, there was a 58% year-over-year increase in publicly posted ransomware victims with a record high of 7515 in 2025. Manufacturing (1066/14.2%) was the most impacted, followed by Technology (687/9.1%), Retail & Wholesale (530/7%), Healthcare (511/6.8%), and Legal (455/6%).
But let’s be clear: Every industry was impacted.
So, what happens when it’s your turn?
We have previously discussed the value vs. risks and perils of an incident response plan. Having an IR team on retainer can be a game changer.
An Incident Response Retainer will speed response and recovery from a cyber-attack — because you’re not trying to find, interview and hire an IR service provider, align with your insurance company on getting these vendors approved, and terms can be negotiated in advance. You’ll essentially have a safety net in place to help you more quickly respond to threats, and subsequently mature your security posture, improve compliance, and proactively harden your security environment.
“When hit with data breach, you have to react quickly. Companies that pre-plan for an incident are in a much better position than those who wait until they’re in the thick of it.” — Spencer Pollock, Member of the national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity team at McDonald Hopkins
An incident response retainer will provide:
Working with insurance brokers, carriers, and legal counsel, GuidePoint Security helps organizations understand, prepare for, and optimize cyber insurance coverage. Want to understand more about optimizing your Cyber Insurance and Legal Strategy? Check out our whitepaper.