Fighting Cyber Insurance Denials Over the “Human Factor”

The ransomware attack against United Healthcare subsidiary Change Healthcare, which froze medical claims and payments throughout the United States for weeks, should serve as a wake-up call to all companies and organizations not only to maximize cyber defenses, but also to ensure that their insurance policies will respond to losses and liabilities stemming from a cyberattack. Policyholders should know that the “human factor” does not preclude cyber coverage, despite insurance companies routinely arguing that claims are barred or limited in coverage when employees, managers or other human beings factored into the losses suffered from a cyber incident.