Real Stories of Businesses That Were Denied Their Cyber Insurance Payouts

Just because you have cyber insurance, it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed a payout in the event of a cyber attack or data breach. This is because you may not have the proper coverage for certain types of cyberattacks or you might have fallen out of the required compliance to keep your policy valid. As a result, it is critical to carefully review your policy and make sure your business is sufficiently protected!

The Past is Here to Teach Us

Here are 3 actual examples of cyber insurance claims that were denied and why:

Cottage Health vs. Columbia Casualty

The issue stemmed from a data breach at Cottage Health System. They notified their cyber insurer, Columbia Casualty Company, and filed a claim for coverage.

However, Columbia Casualty sought a declaratory judgment against Cottage Health, claiming that they were not obligated to defend or compensate Cottage Health because the insured didn’t comply with the terms of their policy. According to Columbia Casualty, Cottage Health agreed to maintain specific minimum risk controls as a condition of their coverage, which they then failed to do.

This case reminds organizations of the importance of reading their cyber policy, understanding what it contains and adhering to its terms.

BitPay vs. Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company

BitPay, a leading global cryptocurrency payment service provider, filed a $1.8 million insurance claim, but Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company denied it. The loss was caused by a phishing attack in which a hacker broke into the network of BitPay's business partner, stole the credentials of the CFO of BitPay, pretended to be the CFO of BitPay and requested the transfer of more than 5,000 bitcoins to a fake account.

Massachusetts Bay Insurance stated in its denial that BitPay's loss was not direct and thus was not covered by the policy. Massachusetts Bay Insurance asserted that having a business partner phished does not count as per the policy.

Although BitPay is appealing the denial, this case emphasizes the importance of carefully reviewing insurance policies to ensure you understand what scenarios are covered. This incident also highlights the importance of employee security awareness training and the need to reach out to a managed IT service provider if you don’t have a regular training policy.

International Control Services vs. Travelers Property Casualty Company

Travelers Property Casualty Company requested a district court to reject International Control Services' ransomware attack claim. The company argues that International Control Services failed to properly use multi-factor authentication (MFA), which was required to obtain cyber insurance. MFA is a type of authentication that uses multiple factors to confirm a user's identity.

Travelers Property Casualty Company claims that International Control Services falsely stated on its policy application materials that MFA is required for employees and third parties to access email, log into the network remotely and access endpoints, servers, etc. They stated that International Control Services was only using the MFA protocol on its firewall and that access to its other systems, including its servers, which were the target of the ransomware attack in question, were not protected by MFA.

This case serves as a reminder that when it comes to underwriting policies, insurers are increasingly scrutinizing companies' cybersecurity practices and that companies must be honest about their cybersecurity posture.

Travelers Property Casualty Company said it wants the court to declare the insurance contract null and void, annul the policy and declare it has no duty to reimburse or defend International Control Services for any claim.

Don’t be late to act

As we have seen, there are several reasons why businesses can be denied payouts from their cyber insurance policies. Sometimes, it could be due to a naïve error, such as misinterpreting difficult-to-understand insurance jargon. In other cases, businesses may be maintaining poor cybersecurity hygiene.

A managed IT service provider like Tekie Geek can help you avoid these problems by working with you to assess your risks and develop a comprehensive cybersecurity plan. Feel free to reach out for a no-obligation consultation today and find out how we can ensure your organization stays compliant with their cyber insurance policy!

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