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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Insurance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, May 6, 2020

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will analyze insurance on activity that is costing businesses millions of dollars annually--phishing and online scams. These fraudulent schemes involve email impersonation of otherwise known contacts seeking transfers of funds for seemingly legitimate corporate purposes. When the impacted businesses seek coverage for criminal loss, insurers are denying coverage, and no clear court pattern as emerged.

Faculty

Michael S. Levine
Partner
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Mr. Levine has more than 20 years of experience litigating insurance disputes and advising clients on insurance coverage matters. He represents and counsels policyholders in insurance recovery and business disputes. Mr. Levine also assists clients regarding claim evaluation and strategy, policy placement and endorsement and broker liability issues. In recent years, he has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients in matters involving virtually every type of insurance policy, including property, D&O, E&O, general liability, employment, environmental, and representations and warranties coverages. Mr. Levine has extensive experience with property damage, business interruption and extra expense claims in the U.S. and abroad, as well as reinsurance claims.

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Eric B. Stern
Partner
Kaufman Dolowich Voluck LLP

Mr. Stern concentrates his practice in all aspects of insurance coverage litigation. He has analyzed, written on and litigated over various types of policies, including D&O liability, professional liability, CGL, uninsured/underinsured motorist, homeowners’ liability, and first-party policies. Mr. Stern has successfully defended insurers in multiple matters and has reported decisions at the trial level. Due to Mr. Stern’s experience in this area, he has become a frequent presenter on multiple topics.

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Harry J. Moren
Atty
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Mr. Moren specializes in commercial litigation. He also counsels corporate policyholders on insurance issues and helps them resolve disputes with their insurers. Mr. Moren regularly writes for several firm blogs, including Trust Anchor (Cybersecurity & Data Privacy) and Trade Secrets Watch. 

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Description

Phishing and online scams--email impersonation of a known contact designed to part a company with its money--are an all too common reality in today's business world. As the litigated disputes make clear, though an insured may believe that its crime policy is adequate protection, insurers continue to take a different view and the decisions stemming from the disputes have yielded divergent outcomes based on differences in state law, policy language, and factual circumstances.

Crime insurance policies often require that the loss result directly from a fraudulent act. Insurers contend, however, that because there are multiple acts between the initial fraudulent communication and the release of funds, causation is too unclear to support coverage. A federal circuit court split offers little guidance. For example, the Eleventh Circuit rejected this position in Principle Solutions Group v. Ironshore Indemnity (applying Georgia law). The Second and Sixth Circuits (also applying state law) concur. The Fifth and Ninth Circuits, however, have taken the insurer's side of the dispute.

While disputes over existing policies make their way through the courts, the search for drafting solutions is emerging. There is demand in the industry to add specific definitions applicable to social engineering. Further, as fraudsters move on from simple identity spoofing to more complex forms of fraud, counsel must stay current on drafting and courtroom arguments to keep pace.

Listen as this panel of technology-savvy insurance law experts provides education and guidance on the nuances of this incredibly complex set of issues.

Outline

  1. Types of activity at issue
    1. Phishing and scamming
    2. Social engineering
  2. Coverage positions under existing policies
    1. Courts finding the existence of coverage
    2. Courts finding no coverage
    3. Caveat: though these are federal diversity cases, state law applies
  3. Policy drafting solutions

Benefits

The panel will review these and other essential matters:

  • The genesis, extent, and emerging forms of email and online fraud
  • Types of coverages for possible recovery of losses
  • Differing legal approaches
  • What the future holds for insurance provisions to address sophisticated online fraud