BDI & Havoc Shield team up to launch Shield Up

BDI Global has partnered with Havoc Shield, a cybersecurity program-as-a-service built for SMBs, for the launch of Shield Up, a cyber risk assessment and remediation platform designed to make cyber liability insurance more accessible to small businesses.

The program is supported by a Beazley facility and according to the companies has already accelerated SMB application bind time by an average of 40%.

According to the partnership, with the increase in volume and sophistication of cyberattacks over the last few years, companies under $100 million in revenue have found it especially difficult to meet carriers’ rising standards.

Shield Up’s online portal offers a path for these businesses to quickly understand what IT security controls prevent them from obtaining full and affordable coverage, the companies said. It allows them to immediately adopt underwriting-vetted solutions provided by Havoc Shield to close those gaps and bind a policy. Shield Up also transforms the underwriting process through automated scanning technology and an automated control verification process, culminating in a streamlined buying experience for insureds and their brokers.

“For over ten years, BDI Global’s sole focus has been designing and developing cyber risk insurance programs for SMBs,” said Michael Lamprecht, president of BDI Global. “Our partnership with Havoc Shield represents the next evolution of that mission. With Shield Up, we’re not only providing a more accessible path to quality cyber liability insurance – we’re offering small businesses a way to quickly and easily become more resilient to cyber threats.”

"With Shield Up, we aim to go beyond the current trend of arming underwriters with a better risk assessment through scanning technology,” added Brian Fritton, chief executive & founder of Havoc Shield. “We want to help the applicant actually do the homework to fill gaps and become a better risk. Ultimately, this makes small businesses less likely to suffer financial and reputational losses from a breach or ransomware attack. We’ve done this by employing the same award-winning experience we use in our core offering to the often confusing experience of understanding and meeting cyber insurance requirements."