Backup / restore testing
In one sentence
Actually recovering data from a backup to prove it works, before an emergency rather than during one.
A restore test means recovering real files or a system from backup and confirming they're usable. Backups fail silently, so an untested backup is treated as no backup by both experts and carriers.
Why it's on your cyber insurance application
Applications increasingly ask 'are backups tested?' A dated restore-test note is your evidence.
What this looks like in practice
Pick a date, restore one real folder and one full system, time how long it took, write down what you restored and whether it opened. That note is the entire deliverable. Carriers ask when you last tested, and "we have backups" without a date tends to be read as an untested backup, which is read as no backup.
How the Readiness Check scores it
The free Check asks the same question a carrier will. Here it is, why it's asked, and the fix if today's honest answer is no. The full application question list has the rest.
Backup & recovery
When did you last successfully test restoring from a backup?
Why carriers ask: Tested, offline-capable backups are the difference between an outage and paying a ransom. Claims data shows a record share of ransomware victims now refuse to pay. Working backups are what make refusal possible.
If the answer is no: Run a restore test this month: restore a folder and one full system, time it, and document the result. That document answers the application question.
The written evidence carriers accept
A “yes” on the application needs a document behind it. In the Readiness Pack, that document is:
Guides that cover this
Cybersecurity 101: the basic precautions insurers actually notice
A plain-English guide to the cybersecurity basics that move the needle on a cyber insurance application, and which of them you can fix in an afternoon.
How to write an incident response plan carriers accept
Carriers want an incident response plan that's written and tested. The structure that satisfies the question, plus the one-hour tabletop that proves it.
Why cyber insurance claims get denied
Cyber claims get denied for inaccurate answers, unmaintained controls, late notice and exclusions. What investigations check, and how to stay covered.
Where this comes up by trade
Some trades get asked about this harder than others, usually because a rule or a claim pattern already points at it. These pages have that detail.
Related terms
Would you pass this question today?
The free Readiness Check scores you across the ten control domains carriers probe, in five minutes, no email required for the score.