Sony Corp., already facing many lawsuits over the data breach that exposed sensitive personal information for its online gaming customers,
Zurich American Insurance Co. has filed a lawsuit claiming that it should not have to cover the costs of defending Sony in court over claims of identity theft, Reuters reported Friday.
The article warns that this issue could arise for any company dealing in sensitive financial information. Companies are "seeking to protect themselves against customer claims and associated costs for data and identity theft," and "how to write such policies has become a huge subject of debate in the insurance industry," the article said.
Sony has said since May that it planned to cover the costs associated with its data breach by filing insurance claims.
Richard Bortnick, an attorney who is not involved in the lawsuit, told Reuters that Zurich American is likely to argue that its general liability insurance policy was meant to cover property damage, not damage stemming from a digital attack.
Zurich American also said that it is only obligated to pay for the legal defense of the Sony unit covered by its policy, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, according to the article. The insurer said that the lawsuits against Sony do not claim the sort of damage or injury that the insurance policy was designed to cover. Further, it said, its policy was written with exclusions to deny coverage for certain claims.
Zurich American filed its lawsuit Wednesday. It named some of Sony's other insurers as defendants to clarify their responsibilities in covering Sony's costs, the article said.
