Insurance Archives

Protecting Intangible Assets: Risk Transfer Market Yet to Catch Up

October 12th, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: cybersecurity, data analytics, data breach, data privacy, intellectual property|

Intrinsically Intangible. by Giles Harlow, Senior Vice President, Aon (Bermuda) Ltd. In the early 1980's, tangible assets made up around 80% of the value of the S&P 500. Fast forward to today and nearly 85% of the value of the S&P 500 is attributable to intangible assets. However, the risk transfer market has not caught up. According to the Aon/Ponemon report of last year, whilst around 60% of tangible assets (property, plant and equipment) are currently being insured, only 12% of informational assets are. So what gives? If the vast majority of companies' values in 2018 are attributable to intangibles, why are they not transferring those risks? Is it a lack of education on the client side? A lack of innovation in the brokerage community? A lack of understanding or willingness to accept these new risks on the carrier end? Or is it that whilst the marine and property markets have had centuries to evolve, the newer intangible insurance markets are just gearing up to size as they collate the data they need to properly price and model these risks? Likely, it is some combination of all of these factors. We have seen great strides in the cyber market, with double-digit premium growth over the last four-to-five years. The market has evolved from being focused on large data holders, to providing [...]

Cyber Insurance Policy Language Review: A Deep Dive Into Key Policy Provisions and Important Differences Among Cyber Policies | Oct. 25, 2018 | Now On-Demand!

October 3rd, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: Business Interruption, class actions, cybersecurity, Insurance Companies, mass torts|

[one-third-first] Now Available On Demand PLACE: Your computer or mobile device PRICE: $197 CLE: 1 credit Please send CLE questions to CLE@LitigationConferences.com SPEAKERS: Judy Selby Principal Judy Selby Consulting LLC Scott Godes Partner Barnes & Thornburg Please contact us with any registration questions: Brownie.Bokelman@LitigationConferences.com Kathleen.McFadden@LitigationConferences.com Your registration includes: • A site license to attend this webinar (invite as many people in one location as you can fit around your computer at no extra charge). • Downloadable PowerPoint presentations from our speakers. • The opportunity to connect directly with speakers via email to HBWebinars@LitigationConferences.com • At least one-hour of CLE credit. Produced in collaboration with Judy Selby Consulting LLC Also available as part of your subscription at the Thomson Reuters West LegalEdcenter. [/one-third-first] [two-thirds] What's in your cyber policy? Cyber insurance can provide a lifeline to companies dealing with today’s high stakes and constantly evolving cyber risk and regulatory compliance landscape. But not all cyber policies are created equal, and a single policy word can mean the difference between a covered and an uncovered claim. In this session, we analyze various cyber insurance coverage terms, conditions, and exclusions and describe how the words can impact coverage for real-life claims. What you will learn: • Important differences among generally available insurance coverages for cyber and privacy risks • Understanding basic cyber insurance policy conditions and [...]

Financial Services Cyber Risk Information Sharing

September 26th, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: cybersecurity, data breach, data privacy, insurance claims recovery, Risk Management|

Why We Need to be More Like Apes, Less Like Seagulls By Tom Hagy Featuring Craigg Ballance, Director of Canadian Member Services, FS-ISAC Even before we can walk we are encouraged to share. We’re told to share our things even when we barely have any. Even some wild animals share food and resources – even when those resources are scarce. Some creatures are better at it than others, of course. Apes and lions? Absolutely. Seagulls? All you have to do next time you’re on the beach is toss what’s left of your ham sandwich into the air and see how generous gulls are. People fall into sharing -- and not-fond-of-sharing -- groups, too. Sharing is particularly critical in the financial sector where, while privacy and security regulations command a tight lid on data, global financial institutions are successfully sharing data about cyber risk, says Craigg Ballance, Director of Canadian Member Services for FS-ISAC in Toronto. But, he says, sharing has to take place across a broad landscape. “Information analysis sharing has to cut across the various subsets of the financial sector,” says Ballance. “While banks share local data, they are trying more and more to share globally, but,” he says, “banks need to share with other institutions, like insurers, investment funds, pension funds, and other types of financial institutions, for this [...]

A.I. Best Practices: Rules and Policies for Using Artificial Intelligence in Your Business

July 30th, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: cybersecurity, data breach, data privacy, Insurance Companies, Risk Management|

Explore how cybersecurity breaches impact insurance, risk management, and data privacy with evolving legal and compliance challenges. [one-third-first] DATE: Sept. 27, 2018 TIME: 2 p.m. EDT; 1 p.m. CDT; 12 p.m. MDT; 11 a.m. PDT PLACE: Your computer or mobile device PRICE: $197* per dial-in site *Price is good through Aug. 16. After that it's $247. GROUPS ARE GOOD: Registering qualifies you to multiple attendees at your location. CLE: 1 credit Please send CLE questions to CLE@LitigationConferences.com SPEAKER: John Frank Weaver Attorney McLane Middleton Your registration includes: • A site license to attend this webinar (invite as many people in one location as you can fit around your computer at no extra charge). • Downloadable PowerPoint presentations from our speakers. • The opportunity to connect directly with speakers during the audience Q&A session. • At least one-hour of CLE credit. Produced in collaboration with and their new Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law [/one-third-first] [two-thirds] Nearly every industry is adopting or preparing to adopt artificial intelligence applications into their business practices. That's exciting. However, there are almost no government regulations for their use and few resources providing best practices that anticipate ethical considerations and forthcoming legal requirements. This lack of direction poses a serious problem as A.I. applications become more widespread. Businesses are creating their own ad hoc practices without considering the [...]

Joshua Gold on Cyber Crime and Insurance

July 24th, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: compliance, cybersecurity, data breach, fraud, Insurance Companies|

With the amount of trickery going into thefts and embezzlements these days, crime insurance companies too often use the many steps involved in a fraudulent scheme to argue that losses are indirect and otherwise uncovered. The recent decisions of the Second Circuit and Sixth Circuit on the “direct loss” argument and the scope of computer fraud coverage are important victories for policyholders generally, making clear that where the predominant step in the chain is some type of covered fraudulent misconduct involving a computer, a court is not going to entertain a direct loss defense to excuse the insurance company from paying. As such, policyholders should be familiar with their crime coverage and promptly notify all potentially implicated lines of insurance coverage when a cybercriminal is afoot. -- Joshua Gold, Anderson Kill Read Josh's complete article. Joshua Gold is Chair of Anderson Kill’s Cyber Insurance Recovery Practice and was amicus counsel for United Policyholders in the Medidata Solutions, Inc. v. Federal Insurance Company case before the Second Circuit.

Willis Towers Watson: Cyber Risk Top D&O Concern

July 22nd, 2018|Categories: Corporate Compliance, HB Risk Notes, Insurance|Tags: cybersecurity, data breach, data privacy, Directors & Officers, Insurance Companies|

Based on their survey, Willis Towers Watson says cyber risk continues to top the list of concerns for directors and officers (right up there with employee claims). As for coverage, while they care about price, things like their relationship with the carriers and how well they handle claims are critical elements. And, maybe one key reason cyber events keep happening: "Only 13% of board members feel that their organizations learn from past cyber mistakes." Read the results of the Willis Towers Watson survey.

Crowell & Moring on D&O Corporate Liability for Cyber Claims

July 17th, 2018|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, HB Risk Notes, Insurance|Tags: cybersecurity, data breach, Directors & Officers, Errors and Omissions (E&O), Insurance Companies|

"Although many commentators have noted the potential exposure for cyber claims in the form of shareholder actions under D&O coverage, little attention has been given to the risks of cyber exposure under Side C [D&O corporate liability] coverage," write Laura A. Foggan and Thomas Kinney of Crowell & Moring LLP. "D&O policies contain many exclusions and coverage limitations that should protect against undue, unintended expansion of such policies to encompass cyber risks. However, as this case illustrates, courts may not always agree that those coverage limitations fully address cyber breach exposures."

Miller Friel: Opioid Suppliers Are Right to Expect Insurance Coverage

June 1st, 2018|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, HB Risk Notes, HB Tort Notes, Insurance|Tags: complex litigation, Insurance Companies, Liability Claims, professional liability, Risk Management|

An excerpt from a post by Bernard Bell of Miller Friel PLLC "Because insurers are facing a difficult time evading coverage for opioid claims, they are raising all sorts of non-contractual defenses to avoid coverage, including a 'social insurance' argument they have raised in the past. "If past public health crises are prologue, these arguments will run something like this: Holding insurers responsible to pay for the costs of public services, including health care, will transform private party liability insurance into social insurance to underwrite public health epidemics caused by all manner of ills. According to insurers, this will, at a minimum, increase the cost of liability insurance, and financially harm liability insurers, who have not priced this risk into their premiums. Moreover, holding insurers liable to pay will shift costs away from those best equipped to address the social problem; the companies that supply the opioid products. "These arguments are inconsistent with insurance law, which permits parties to freely contract to cover risks, and which place the burden on insurers to pay for insured risk, even if they made an error in underwriting. Courts interpret insurance contracts according to their language and construe them against insurers if they are ambiguous, and in favor of an insureds’ reasonable expectations of coverage. "Moreover, to the extent courts are inclined to look past [...]

Insurance Coverage and GDPR: What’s Your Financial Exposure? –Linda Kornfeld, Blank Rome

May 28th, 2018|Categories: Corporate Compliance, HB Risk Notes, Insurance|Tags: compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy, insurance claims recovery, Insurance Companies|

In her recent article -- GDPR Is Finally Here: It’s Time to Make Sure Your Current Cyber Policy Will Protect against New Financial Exposures -- Blank Rome insurance coverage partner Linda Kornfeld wrote: Companies can face large financial exposure for GDPR “fines or penalties.” Are they covered under currently worded cyber policies? The answer is, maybe not if your policy, e.g., covers regulatory proceedings addressing only failures to protect private information, as opposed to GDPR proceedings that may address broader noncompliant data collection and use practices. Additionally, coverage for GDPR fines or penalties may be more restricted under the laws of many European countries than the laws of certain states in the United States. Your insurer may agree to choice of law language in your policy that will increase the chances of coverage. On behalf of all of us at HB -- Congratulations to Linda on her move to Blank Rome! Now Vice Chair of the firm's Insurance Recovery Practice Group, Linda is one of the nation’s most prominent insurance recovery attorneys, representing corporate policyholders in high-stakes litigation for more than 25 years. Using strategic, creative approaches in her trial and appellate practice, Linda assists her clients in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance assets. She is a strategic adviser to senior executives and in-house counsel on mitigating risk [...]