Computer Law Commons^™

Tangible Cash For An Intangible Loss? Insurance Coverage For Damage Or Loss Or Third-Party Data, Kendall Bodden

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Will general business insurance cover liability for electronic data loss? A recent change to Commercial General Liability language specifies that data is not “tangible property” for CGL coverage. However, many companies may still be covered by older policies that do not contain this express exclusion. Case law interpreting the older policy language tends to deny coverage for the lost data itself, but successful claims have been made based on the loss of use of hardware caused by a data loss.