CFC vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers Cyber Insurance

CFC guarantees incident-response access to every policyholder; Heffernan's cyber risk team assesses exposure before shopping the market for a carrier.

What Is CFC Insurance?

CFC provides specialty insurance through an MGA model, with technology products for startups through multinational businesses. Its U.S. technology materials describe combined liability and cyber protection, while California eligibility requires product-specific confirmation. 1,2,3,4

Read the CFC profile

What Is Heffernan Insurance Brokers?

Heffernan Insurance Brokers is an independent, Walnut Creek–headquartered retail brokerage that arranges business insurance, employee benefits, and related services. Its technology practice markets to mid- and late-stage companies, including venture-funded and pre-IPO firms. 9,10,11

Read the Heffernan Insurance Brokers profile

What Is Cyber Insurance?

Cyber insurance can help a business respond to cyber incidents and address covered liability claims arising from them. 13

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Cyber Insurance

When Risk Services Are Delivered

CFC includes its own CFC Response incident-response team and a free monitoring app with every Cyber Proactive Response policy, regardless of which carrier or syndicate ultimately sits behind it. 6 Heffernan's cyber risk team instead works before the policy is placed, determining a client's exposure, shopping the market and guiding coverage selection, so the incident-response access a policyholder gets afterward depends on which carrier Heffernan places the business with.

Heffernan says it maintains a cyber risk team with expertise in determining a client's cyber exposure, shopping the market, presenting options and guiding the selection of coverage. It arranges the policy with insurance carriers rather than underwriting cyber coverage itself. 12Company-reported. Cyber Security Insurance page's description of the cyber risk team.

How Coverage Is Described

CFC's cyber page names specific features of its own product: crime cover, a 12-month business-interruption indemnity period and data recreation cover. 5 Heffernan describes cyber coverage more generally as paying for data recovery, legal fees, notification expenses and business interruption, without naming a specific policy form since it arranges coverage with outside carriers. 12

What Neither Company Names

Neither CFC's application materials nor Heffernan's cyber page names the insurer that would issue a policy. 4 12

What to Confirm in Cyber Insurance Quotes

  • Ask Heffernan which specific carrier it is proposing and what incident-response services that carrier includes, since access varies by placement. 12
  • Ask CFC to confirm the underwriting insurer behind your policy, since its application names only the administering entity. 8
  • Compare premium ranges: Heffernan's FAQ gives only a general market range, while CFC does not publish premium figures on its product page. 12 5
  • Ask both whether business interruption and data-recreation costs are included in the base policy or require an added endorsement. 5 12

Offering Details

CFC vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers Cyber Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaCFC Cyber Proactive ResponseHeffernan Cyber Security Insurance Brokerage
Role in This Line

CFC's flagship cyber product, Cyber Proactive Response, targets businesses with revenues from $0 to $250 million and pairs the policy with built-in security monitoring, incident response and claims handling rather than selling those as add-ons. 5Company-reported. Cyber insurance product page's Cyber Proactive Response summary; CFC separately sells Cyber (admitted), Corporate cyber for businesses at $250 million and up, and a Cyber excess policy.

Heffernan says it maintains a cyber risk team with expertise in determining a client's cyber exposure, shopping the market, presenting options and guiding the selection of coverage. It arranges the policy with insurance carriers rather than underwriting cyber coverage itself. 12Company-reported. Cyber Security Insurance page's description of the cyber risk team.

Issuing Insurer

The Cyber Proactive Response application form names only CFC Underwriting Limited, an entity authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, as the party administering the form. Neither the cyber product page nor the application discloses which specific insurer or Lloyd's syndicate capacity sits behind a US Cyber Proactive Response policy. 8,4Not publicly disclosed. Application footer and the regulatory information page, both checked on 2026-09-23; CFC also operates Lloyd's Syndicate 1988 and CFC USA Inc.'s admitted and E&S licenses, but no page ties one of these specifically to Cyber Proactive Response.

The cyber page does not name the insurer that would issue a cyber policy arranged through Heffernan. 12Not publicly disclosed. Checked the Cyber Security Insurance page on 2026-09-23. The issuing insurer would appear on the quote and declarations.

Who It’s For

CFC segments cyber eligibility by revenue: Cyber Proactive Response and Cyber (admitted) are positioned for businesses with revenues from $0 to $250 million, while Corporate cyber is for businesses at $250 million and above. 5Company-reported. Cyber product page product summaries; actual eligibility for a given applicant depends on underwriting.

Heffernan says cyber insurance is for any business handling sensitive customer information, relying on digital operations or storing data electronically, and names healthcare, finance, retail and technology among the industries it serves, alongside small businesses and large corporations. 12Company-reported. Cyber Security Insurance page's FAQ answer on who needs cyber insurance; this is general educational content on Heffernan's own page rather than a stated underwriting appetite.

Coverage Features

Cyber Proactive Response includes crime cover, a 12-month indemnity period for business interruption, and data recreation cover, with unlimited claim reinstatements available at either no deductible or a single deductible at most. 5Company-reported. Cyber product page Key features list for Cyber Proactive Response.

Heffernan describes cyber policies it arranges as covering costs from a cyber incident, such as data recovery, legal fees, notification expenses and business interruption, and says a policy can also provide access to incident-response experts, including IT forensics specialists and public relations advisors. 12Company-reported. Cyber Security Insurance page's coverage description and FAQ; specific insuring agreements, sublimits and exclusions depend on the policy form selected.

Limits and Retentions

For larger businesses, CFC's Corporate cyber product (for revenues of $250 million or more) has a published maximum line size of $25 million; the Cyber Proactive Response and Cyber (admitted) pages for smaller businesses do not publish a maximum dollar limit. 5Company-reported. Cyber product page Corporate cyber Key features; limit for any individual policy appears on its declarations.

The cyber page does not publish specific limits or retentions for a Heffernan-arranged cyber policy; its FAQ gives only a general premium range of a few hundred to several thousand dollars annually across the market. 12Not publicly disclosed. Checked the Cyber Security Insurance page on 2026-09-23.

Risk Services

Every CFC cyber policyholder gets CFC Response, described as an in-house incident-response service available 24/7, plus a free mobile app offering dark web monitoring, phishing simulations and external network deep scanning. 6,7Company-reported. Response page and cyber brochure; CFC characterizes its incident response team as one of the largest in-house teams in the industry, a claim not independently verified here.

Beyond claim payment, Heffernan says a cyber policy can give access to incident-response experts such as IT forensics specialists and public relations advisors, and that its cyber risk team helps with exposure assessment and coverage selection before a policy is bound. 12Company-reported. Cyber Security Insurance page's services description.

How to Apply

The US Cyber Proactive Response application is a one-page form asking whether multi-factor authentication is enforced for remote network access and email, whether backups are offline or MFA-secured, and whether the business had a cyber incident in the last three years. 8Company-reported. Cyber Proactive Response application form sections on cyber security controls and previous cyber incidents.

Heffernan's FAQ says getting cyber insurance starts with assessing your business's data types and cybersecurity measures, then working with an experienced broker to obtain and compare quotes from multiple providers. 12Company-reported. Cyber Security Insurance page's 'How Do I Get Cyber Insurance?' FAQ answer.

Claims Support

CFC says its in-house cyber claims team resolves several thousand cyber claims a year and reports a 99.4% cyber claims acceptance rate over a recent 12-month period. 7Company-reported. Cyber brochure claims statistics; these are company-reported figures and were not independently audited.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Full Comparison

More CFC vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers Comparisons

Other Cyber Insurance Comparisons

Sources

CFC

  1. About CFC. CFC; Matt Taylor biography: independent MGA and Syndicate 1988. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Technology. CFC; Introduction; Technology key features; Digitally traded. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Technology — United States product brochure. CFC; Page 1: coverage sections, including Products and services liability; Response app highlights; Limits and deductibles. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Regulatory information. CFC; CFC Underwriting Limited; CFC Lloyd's Syndicate 1988; CFC USA Inc. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  5. Cyber insurance | CFC. CFC; Cyber Proactive Response, Cyber (admitted), Corporate cyber, Cyber excess product summaries and Key features; FAQs: How is a cyber insurance policy structured? Accessed 2026-09-23.
  6. Incident response | CFC. CFC; Proactive protection; Immediate response; Real-time support. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  7. Protecting businesses against cyber risk (cyber product brochure). CFC; Market-leading cover highlights: separate limit for incident response costs, unlimited reinstatements with nil deductible, full business interruption cover; Award-winning cyber claims team stats. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  8. Cyber Proactive Response Insurance application form (US). CFC; Basic company details; Cyber security controls; Previous cyber incidents; footer entity line. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Heffernan Insurance Brokers

  1. Our Story. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Headquartered in Walnut Creek; nationwide presence; founded 1988; employee owned; niche practices including technology. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Technology Company Insurance. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Pre-IPO and venture-funded heading; mid to late stage specialization; global expansion copy; self-insurance strategies; Key Markets list; Why Heffernan broker history; Joseph Talmadge practice leader; FAQ. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Heffernan Business Insurance Brokerage. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Forward-Thinking Business Insurance: basic coverages (general liability, commercial property and auto, workers’ compensation); corporate and executive protection (EPL, D&O, fiduciary responsibility, cyber, kidnap and ransom); alternative risk capabilities; claims, loss control and risk-management services; industry practice links including Technology and Claims Advocacy. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Cyber Security Insurance. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Make Cyber Liability Insurance Part of Your Cyber Risk Management Plan: cyber risk team determines exposure, shops the market, presents options and guides coverage selection; incident-response access; Frequently Asked Questions on what cyber insurance covers, who needs it, cost and how to get it. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Cyber Insurance Guide

  1. Cyber Insurance. Federal Trade Commission; Opening; First-Party and Third-Party Coverage; First-Party Coverage; Third-Party Coverage; What Should Your Cyber Insurance Policy Cover. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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