From the fun and fast-moving 2013 PLUS Conference session “Cyber Liability Speed Debates,” moderator Jake Kouns (Markel) asks the question…
Do the current cyber liability policies on the market today provide sufficient coverage for insureds?
Panelists Meredith Schnur (Wells Fargo Insurance Services) and Theodore J. Kobus III, Esq. (BakerHostetler) debate this issue.
For much more on this quickly-evolving coverage area don’t miss the 2014 PLUS Cyber Liability Symposium, April 24 and 25 in Atlanta. Registration is now open.
PLUS members can view this entire session, and many more from past PLUS Conferences and Symposia, in the PLUS Multimedia Library.
Great debate. One item not addressed regarding inadequacy of coverage is the “known unknowns” (things we know we don’t know) and “unknown unknowns” (things we don’t know we don’t know) exposure to quote a Donald Rumsfeld term. The question I have about adequacy of limits and coverage relates to the unknown path the plaintiff’s bar is going to find to develop an attack on these exposures.
We saw this in the nursing home malpractice arena where plaintiffs developed a template to identify and litigate malpractice claims. It is inevitable that some enterprising plaintiff attorney is going to find a method of sourcing cyber liability claims and develop a template which will then flood the market with lawsuits (many likely frivolous).
Once this happens, the coverage and limits will likely be found to be inadequate or underpriced similar to the malpractice. The unknown path of the plaintiffs will take could lead to serious inadequacies.