September marked a significant milestone in terms of cyber security insurance: for the first time in a rolling 12 month period, over 1000 SME customers were certified with both Cyber Essentials and cyber insurance.

This significant achievement has been announced by Worcestershire-based The IASME Consortium and independent insurance broker, Sutcliffe & Co.

Since the Cyber Essentials scheme began in 2014, IASME, a principal accreditation body for the government backed scheme, has led the way in certificating businesses to Cyber Essentials. IASME joined forces with Sutcliffe & Co at the start to offer included cyber insurance cover to UK based SMEs, once Cyber Essentials Certification had been achieved.  This last 12 months has seen the greatest uptake in both the certification and the insurance.

The Sutcliffe & Co insurance package for qualifying SMEs has continually been at the heart of IASME’s offering.  Dr Emma Philpott of IASME Consortium commented: “Providing this cyber insurance package to SMEs is very important to us. The insurance element provides businesses and their customers with added peace of mind and we are delighted to have reached such a significant milestone.”

Duncan Sutcliffe, director Sutcliffe & Co, added: “Working to attain Cyber Essentials certification through IASME shows that a business is already committed to safeguarding their IT systems; the cyber insurance we can then provide for the eligible companies adds an extra level of safeguarding that may not necessarily be procured otherwise. This is beneficial for both the certified business and their supply chain.”

Cyber Essentials is recommended by a number of trade bodies, including the FCA, Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) and the Law Society; with an increase in the number of cyber security attacks, a combination of safer cyber security practices and appropriate insurance are key for today’s businesses to survive and grow.

Dr Philpott concluded: “With the number of key businesses across the UK seeking the reassurance of Cyber Essentials certification throughout their own supply chains, it seems highly likely this major milestone will soon be surpassed!”