Erie Insurance is now facing not one, but two class action lawsuits while it continues to probe the recent cybersecurity breach.
One lawsuit was brought by Neil Plascencia, a customer from Illinois, while the other was filed by Amy Haas, a former Erie employee residing in Wisconsin. Both allege that Erie Insurance failed to adequately safeguard their personally identifiable information (PII), with each seeking $5 million in damages.
Both lawsuits allege that a ransomware group infiltrated Erie’s information network on June 7, leading to a data breach.
According to a report from Google Threat Intelligence Group, the cybercriminal organization known as Scattered Spider may be responsible for Erie’s troubles, given the timing of events, though this remains unconfirmed. Google has alerted insurers that Scattered Spider — previously targeting retailers in the U.S. and U.K. — now appears to be shifting its focus toward the insurance sector.
Erie has not yet publicly confirmed whether a data breach or ransomware attack occurred. The insurer stated only that on Saturday, June 7, its information security team detected unusual activity on its network, prompting immediate action to protect its systems and data. Since then, Erie’s systems have remained offline, with phone, email, and online services all disrupted by the ongoing outage.
Plaintiff Plascencia claims he received an email from Erie in June informing him that a security incident had compromised his personally identifiable information and exposed it to cybercriminals.
In its latest update on June 14, Erie Insurance reported making "steady progress" toward restoring its downed computer systems. However, the company has not released any additional details regarding the nature, cause, or impact of the incident.
“Our teams—working alongside leading cybersecurity experts—continue working around the clock to restore access for customers, agents and employees. We’re confident in our actions, but this work is complex and takes time. We appreciate your patience and understanding,” the insurer said in its June 14 update.
A spokesperson for the insurer stated that the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.
