Cyber Insurance Claims | Public Adjuster for Businesses
Ransomware, data breach or wire fraud? We document your business losses and negotiate your cyber policy claim in CA, AZ, WA, ID, CO, TX & NV.
Get a Free Cyber Claim ReviewYour Systems Come Back First. Your Claim Can't Wait Behind Them.
After a cyber attack, the business is focused on getting systems back online. The insurer is focused on something else: notice deadlines, approved vendors, and proof of every dollar you say you lost. Claims that are paid in full are usually the ones where the loss was documented while the incident was still unfolding.
Apex Adjusting Group represents businesses on the first-party side of a cyber insurance claim: the income you lost while systems were down, the extra expense of staying open, and the cost to restore data and equipment. The insurer's adjuster works for the insurer. We work for you.
First-Party Cyber Losses We Document
Cyber Incidents That Lead to Claims
- Ransomware: Encrypted servers, locked workstations and days or weeks of lost operations while systems are rebuilt.
- Data breaches: Unauthorized access to customer or employee records, followed by forensic, notification and credit monitoring costs.
- Business email compromise: A spoofed vendor or executive email that redirects a wire payment. Coverage often sits in a separate social engineering or funds transfer section of the policy.
- Malware and system failure: Malicious code that corrupts data or takes down point-of-sale, scheduling or production systems.
- Vendor outages: An attack on a cloud provider or software vendor that stops your business even though your own network was never touched. Whether this is covered depends on your policy's dependent business interruption wording.
How We Handle Your Cyber Claim
Policy Review
We read your cyber policy, waiting period, sublimits and vendor requirements before costs pile up.
Loss Timeline
We build the timeline of the outage with your IT team and forensic firm, from first sign of attack to full restoration.
Income and Expense Calculation
We calculate lost net income, continuing expenses and extra expense from your financial records.
Proof of Loss
We assemble the invoices, payroll records and financials into a proof of loss the insurer can verify.
Negotiation
We answer the insurer's questions, challenge low offers and negotiate the settlement on your behalf.
Often Covered vs. Often Disputed
Every cyber policy is written differently, and two businesses with the same incident can have very different coverage. In general:
Often covered
- Restoring data and rebuilding systems
- Forensic investigation by an approved firm
- Lost income after the waiting period
- Notification and credit monitoring
- Extortion costs, with insurer consent
Often disputed or excluded
- Vendors hired without insurer approval
- Security controls misstated on the application
- Losses from unpatched known vulnerabilities
- Acts of war and state-sponsored attacks
- Improving systems beyond their pre-attack state
What a Public Adjuster Does Not Do
We do not respond to the incident, negotiate with attackers, or defend lawsuits and regulatory actions. Breach counsel and your forensic team handle the incident, and the insurer defends third-party claims. Our role is the first-party claim: making sure the losses your business suffered are documented, valued and paid.
Related Services
Cyber Insurance Claim FAQs
What does a public adjuster do on a cyber insurance claim?
We handle the first-party side of the claim: your own losses. That means reading the policy, building the business interruption and extra expense calculation, gathering the invoices and records the insurer asks for, preparing the proof of loss and negotiating the settlement. Your breach counsel and forensic firm handle the incident itself; we make sure the money you lost is fully documented and paid.
What should I do first after a ransomware attack or data breach?
Contain the incident, then call the breach hotline listed in your cyber policy before you hire vendors. Many policies require you to use the insurer's approved panel of breach counsel and forensic firms, and costs from off-panel vendors may not be reimbursed. Keep every log, ransom note, email and invoice, and do not wipe affected systems until the forensic team says so.
Does cyber insurance cover ransomware payments?
Some policies reimburse extortion payments, but usually only with the insurer's prior consent and only where the payment is legal. Payments to sanctioned groups are not permitted. Even when the ransom itself is not paid, the restoration, forensic and business interruption costs that follow an attack are often covered.
How is cyber business interruption calculated?
Most policies pay the net income you would have earned plus continuing normal expenses during the period your systems were down, after a waiting period stated in hours. The calculation depends on your financial records, the length of the outage and how long it took to return to normal operations. This is often the largest and most disputed part of a cyber claim.
Why are cyber insurance claims delayed or denied?
Common reasons are late notice, use of vendors the insurer did not approve, gaps in the documentation of lost income, disputes over how long the interruption lasted, and exclusions tied to security controls the application said were in place, such as multi-factor authentication or backups. We review the denial or offer against the exact policy wording.
Do you handle lawsuits or regulatory fines after a breach?
No. Third-party claims, such as customer lawsuits and regulatory proceedings, are defended by the insurer and your breach counsel. Our role is limited to the first-party losses your business suffered.
What documents do I need for a cyber insurance claim?
Your full cyber policy and declarations, the incident timeline, the forensic report when available, vendor invoices, payroll and overtime records for staff pulled into the response, and financial statements for the months before and after the incident to show lost income.
How much does a public adjuster charge for a cyber claim?
We work on a contingency basis, and our fee is based on your individual claim. There is no upfront cost, and if there is no recovery, there is no fee.
Get Help With Your Cyber Insurance Claim
Free claim review. No upfront cost, and no fee unless we recover.