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<\/div>\nMerck & Co. Inc. has reportedly reached a deal with insurers over a closely-watched coverage dispute related to a massive cyberattack in 2017.<\/p>\n
The New Jersey Supreme Court in July 2023 agreed to hear the case<\/a> after a state appeals court ruled months prior against eight insurers, finding that a hostile\/warlike action exclusion in an all risks property insurance policy did not apply to a Russian-linked cyberattack attack called \u201cNotPetya\u201d on the pharmaceutical firm.<\/p>\n Related: New Jersey Appeals Court Affirms War Exclusion Does Not Apply to Cyber Attack<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Bloomberg Law reported<\/a> three insurers filed with the court on Wednesday and that the settlement is confidential.<\/p>\n More than 30 insurers were involved in the case at the start, but many have since resolved their claims with Merck. Eight insurers that remained in the case included Ace American, Allianz, Liberty Mutual, QBE, XL and Lloyd\u2019s syndicates. Merck\u2019s property insurance program included the \u201call risks\u201d property policies in a three-layer structure, with $1.75 billion in total limits above a $150 million deductible. The remaining eight insurers\u2019 policies insured percentages of coverage in one, two or all three of the layers. In total, they disputed about $700 million in coverage or just under 40% of Merck\u2019s total coverage for the policy period.<\/p>\n The insurers had tried to use the exclusions to avoid paying Merck\u2019s claim, citing the fact the NotPetya malware was attributed to Russia and was meant to be deployed to disrupt and destabilize Ukraine. The malware wound up affecting thousands of companies worldwide.<\/p>\n The state appellate court ruling upheld a January 2022 state trial court decision that the war exclusions in the drugmaker\u2019s policies did not apply.<\/p>\n Related:<\/strong> Court Siding With Merck Over War Exclusion for Cyber Attack a Warning to Insurers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Topics<\/span> Carriers<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n