Ace USA has announced a new Law Firm Privacy Protection endorsement designed to complement its Privacy Protection policy in conjunction with supplementing a law firm's traditional legal malpractice program.
The U.S.-based retail operations of the ACE Group, says most professional liability policies respond to third-party privacy claims but they do not typically indemnify law firms for the first-party costs associated with a data breach.
Ace's Privacy Protection policy provides first-party coverage, which is increasingly important as costs rise, the number of data breaches increases, and notification requirements imposed by state and federal regulators become more comprehensive. The Law Firm Privacy Protection endorsement offers response to a claim presented in combination with a legal malpractice policy.
"Law firms face significant liability when confidential client or proprietary information is lost or compromised through targeted attacks by third parties," says Toby Merrill, vice president of Ace Professional Risk, in a statement. "Given the recent modifications to Section 105A of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which focuses on extending a lawyer's obligations of confidentiality to electronic records and communications including the use of reasonable efforts to safeguard against unauthorized access, Ace provides a clear solution by tailoring this privacy coverage to supplement a law firm's legal malpractice policy."
Ace helps firms mitigate the financial and reputational risks associated with privacy breaches, covering first-party expenses and providing access to a suite of data breach specialists and other important benefits.
In addition, the endorsement tailors the Ace Privacy Protection policy to address the specific exposures of a law firm. There is no professional services exclusion and coverage is written on a duty-to-pay versus duty-to-defend basis to align with many legal malpractice policies.
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