Managed detection and response (MDR)
In one sentence
A service where outside experts monitor your security tools around the clock and respond to threats for you.
MDR pairs EDR-style tooling with a human team (a security operations center) that watches alerts 24/7 and acts on real threats. Useful for small businesses with no in-house security staff.
Why it's on your cyber insurance application
A strong compensating control to mention when you lack internal monitoring.
What this looks like in practice
Alerts at 2am are only useful if somebody is awake. If your IT support is one person or a part-time provider, MDR is the honest way to answer the "who monitors this" question without claiming a capability you don't have. Ask any provider two things: what they do when something fires at 2am, and how fast they'll say they did it. It's also one of the few places where buying something genuinely changes an answer on the form: monitored around the clock by a named provider is a different claim from checking the console when someone remembers.
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.
Endpoint protection
What protects your computers and servers from malware?
Why carriers ask: EDR (endpoint detection and response) is what stops ransomware mid-attack. Many carriers price policies differently, or decline outright, based on this answer alone.
If the answer is no: Deploy EDR to every computer and server this week. This is the single fastest insurability improvement after MFA.
The written evidence carriers accept
A “yes” on the application needs a document behind it. In the Readiness Pack, that document is:
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.