From coverage selection to dispute resolution, our skilled and accomplished lawyers develop comprehensive solutions that are mindful of each client’s specific business and legal goals, while taking into account the rapidly evolving cyber insurance landscape.

Coverage-Need Assessment and Counseling

We regularly advise clients on insurance coverage for cybersecurity and privacy risks, including auditing existing or proposed insurance policies to identify gaps in coverage or problematic language that may lead to coverage disputes. We work with clients and their brokers to seek coverage enhancements, language changes, and endorsements to address gaps in coverage. Our team has reviewed and advised on nearly every cyber insurance policy available in the market and has been retained by major insurance brokers to advise on new endorsements and policy language. We have also worked on numerous cyber insurance captive programs. This experience includes drafting language, ensuring coordination of excess coverage and auditing language for captive policies, and drafting and advising on reinsurance contracts for reinsurance coverage of captive programs. We also team with client personnel to improve incident response preparedness and insurance education by drafting insurance-related sections for incident response plans and by participating in tabletop exercises on the cyber insurance claims process.

Incident Response

The tenor of claim presentation begins long before the claim is submitted to your insurer. Our team works with clients from the moment a cybersecurity incident is discovered to make sure clients recover as much as possible, as soon as possible, from their insurers. Unlike brokers, we analyze the incident through the lens of emerging cyber insurance case law, as well as decades of decisions shaping legacy coverages, to identify and manage possible coverage disputes. When appropriate, team members partner with the firm’s internationally ranked global privacy and cybersecurity practice to address the full scope of issues resulting from a cyber, privacy, or physical security incident, including regulatory concerns, media exposure, or damage mitigation. This unique approach allows us to provide clients with coordinated, thorough support for any issue that arises.

Claim Presentation

Facts, words, and timing are all critical considerations when presenting claims to an insurer. Decades of experience working with insurance companies provide us with an extensive familiarity with these intricacies and equip us to prepare comprehensive and persuasive claims for our clients. We also know how to anticipate and work around carrier stonewalling, coverage defenses, and apparent holes in coverage, all of which can become points of dispute during claim presentation. We have handled hundreds of cyber insurance claims, from notice through ultimate claim submission and negotiation, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars recovered for clients. The vast majority of the cyber claims we have handled were paid without the need for mediation, litigation, or arbitration.

Dispute Resolution

Insurance recovery negotiation, mediation, litigation, and arbitration are cornerstones of our practice. Our team has achieved successful results in insurance coverage matters worldwide—both in and out of the courthouse. We have the capacity and knowledge to handle the most complex of insurance coverage cases.

Coverage-Need Assessment and Counseling

• Advised major energy companies on appropriate cyber insurance and data security programs.
• Audited insurance programs to evaluate current status, threat areas, and areas for protection against cyber losses.
• Analyzed responsiveness of cyber insurance coverage for data breach incurred by major educational institution.
• Drafted provisions concerning cybersecurity and insurance for agreement between global investment and advisory firm subsidiary and compliance software service provider.

Policy Selection

• Developed internet insurance forms for a multinational property and casualty insurance company, including policy review and development of cyber loss strategy.
• Evaluated proposed insurance coverage for loss from point-of-sale attacks on international retailer.
• Analyzed sufficiency of proposed cyber insurance coverage for various clients, including major credit card processing company and major bank.
• Analyzed availability of cyber insurance coverage for losses associated with breach of client’s sale systems.

Incident Response

• Advised clients regarding coverage for losses arising out of fraudulent wire transfers.
• Analyzed cyber insurance coverage after data breach of government contractor involved in national intelligence issues.
• Analyzed cyber insurer position in response to significant data loss incurred by major retail operation.
• Analyzed opportunities for contractual indemnification and insurance coverage following breach of customer data at major fast food restaurant chain.
• Advised government contractor on coverage under cyber-risk and liability policies for claims arising out of mass shooting on US government property.

Claim Presentation

• Assisted client recovery of cyber losses under crime and other traditional first-party policies.
• Negotiated cyber insurance coverage claim with insurer for data breach affecting customer information for major retailer.
• Prepared claims under multiple policies for government contractor following cyber breach affecting personal data.
• Prepared claim for losses associated with malware on sale system.
• Prepared claim for losses associated with unauthorized access to credit card data.

Dispute Resolution

• Represented policyholder in coverage dispute regarding losses arising from web applications.
• Litigated coverage under cyber insurance policy for alleged fraudulent payment for medical services.
• Assisted in settlement negotiations about coverage for hardware-related losses resulting from breach.
• Represented policyholder in coverage dispute regarding coverage under commercial umbrella policy for cyber losses following hacking event.