Insurance Archives

Stigma and Shame Hampered AIDS Treatment in the 80s, and Opioid Treatment Today

January 2nd, 2019|Categories: Class Actions, HB Risk Notes, HB Tort Notes, Insurance|Tags: Healthcare, Healthcare Fraud, Insurance, Liability Claims|

By Tom Hagy I worked in the press office of the New Jersey Department of Health in the 1980s. Aside from hazardous waste, asbestos, cancer, a chemical fire or two, the annual influenza "crisis" and the occasional salmonella outbreak, AIDS was one of the most urgent, frightening and misunderstood health issues of the day. The U.S. epidemic began with one reported case in 1981, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and grew to an astounding 36.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2017 as reported by the World Health Organization. The office I worked in was tasked with providing information to the public and members of the press. At the time many public health professionals believed -- as is the case with many diseases -- that education on how to prevent transmission of the HIV virus would all but eliminate its spread. All we had to do was educate the public and, most importantly, the high-risk groups. Education is a common weapon in fighting disease. It's why we wash our hands, cough into our elbows and try not to put salt on absolutely everything we put in our mouths. In the early 1980s the "problem" was that the high-risk groups were having homosexual sex and injecting drugs -- not typical themes addressed by politicians. Early on more conservative policymakers didn't [...]

Aon SVP Belfiore on Corporate Cyber Risk

November 1st, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: Business Interruption, Cybersecurity, Data Breach, Data Privacy, Directors & Officers|

Cyber Risk of Paramount Concern to Corporate Boards Lack of History Remains a Challenge "Cyber security is the most polarizing issue on the corporate board agenda these days," says Anthony Belfiore, SVP and Chief Information Security Officer at Aon. "It has the most potential impact and the most regulatory pressure among all risks companies face. Nothing is more top of mind right now." "You just have to look at the amount of media coverage and the actual realized impacts companies are experiencing. Hundreds of thousands of businesses from big to small are being affected. The entire healthcare system in the UK went down. The impact is tangible. It’s affecting day-to-day operations," he says. “And no one is immune. Board members come from a diverse set of industries, and all are impacted." Why is cyber risk such a hot button for companies versus other types of risks? "The risk has become more urgent as it has shifted to actual business interruption," Belfiore says. "Historically companies were concerned with data leakage and loss, or regulatory fines, but now the actual operation itself can come to a halt. When a company goes down for three days that hits the media. Analysts notice. You can trace a specific event to a drop in stock values." Aren't fines still a concern? "Yes. We are operating in [...]

Foggan & Huggins on Opioid Litigation Defense Coverage

October 31st, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Mass Torts|Tags: Comprehensive General Liability (CGL), Duty to Defend, Errors and Omissions (E&O), Insurance Companies|

Is a drug company that's sued in connection with the manufacture, promotion and distribution of opioids covered by its insurer for defense costs? According to Laura A. Foggan and Michael Lee Huggins of Crowell & Moring, LLP, that determination will come down to whether, in the relevant state, an accident takes place when either the act or the injury was unintentional, or whether an accident occurred if only the act was unintentional. This definition will vary by state, Foggan and Huggins wrote in California Litigation, published by the Litigation Section of the California Bar earlier this year. South Carolina may permit coverage if "either the act or the injury was unintentional," they explained. In Liberty Mutual v. J.M. Smith, the Fourth Circuit held that if a drug company failed to identify and alert regulatory agencies of suspicious drug orders, then there may be a duty to defend. But in California, the Crowell & Moring attorneys wrote, with that state's definition of "accident" a state appellate court in Travelers v. Actavis held that a "deliberate act is not an accident, even if the injury is unintentional, unless the injury was produced by an additional, unexpected, independent, and unforeseen happening." In that case drug company Actavis allegedly engaged in deceptive marketing in order to sell more opioids and reap more profits. According to Foggan and Huggins, [...]

Protecting Intangible Assets: Risk Transfer Market Yet to Catch Up

October 12th, 2018|Categories: HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Technology Law|Tags: Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Data Breach, Data Privacy|

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 [...]

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 Insurance for Autonomous Vehicles Accidents

July 17th, 2018|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Corporate Compliance, HB Risk Notes, Insurance, Technology Law|Tags: Emerging Litigation & Risk, Liability Claims, Risk Management|

"As responsibility for accidents shifts away from drivers and towards the companies that design, manufacture, and maintain autonomous vehicles, the pool of companies potentially liable for accidents will deepen.Companies need to consider potential liability risk when designing autonomous vehicle-related systems and partnering with other companies." Another good piece from the team Crowell & Moring LLP

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: Drug Laws, Drugs & Devices, 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 [...]