New research from Marsh McLennan highlights that organizations regularly testing their cyber incident response plans are significantly less likely to file insurance claims, with tabletop exercises and breach simulations reducing material cyber events by 13 per cent. The findings, drawn from self-assessment data and claims records, ranked response planning as the fourth most effective control—behind endpoint detection and response, monitoring, and staff training—and suggest insurers may soon make detailed planning a condition for coverage. As underwriters seek to manage rising loss ratios, the study reinforces that practical controls such as EDR, phishing-resistant MFA, and structured response drills not only improve resilience but also directly influence the availability and cost of cyber insurance.