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Judge allows cyber claims against MGA to proceed - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Judge allows cyber claims against MGA to proceed by Richard Sine Agents and Brokers , Claims Disputes , Cyber Risks , Emerging Risks , Technology Sep 16, 2026 An auto body repair company can proceed with breach-of-contract and unreasonable delay claims against a cyber managing general agent in an insurance recovery case, even though the company is not one of the six insurers bearing risk under the insurance policy at issue, a Cook County, Illinois, judge ruled on Monday. Judge James E. Hanlon Jr. of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Law Division denied in part and granted in part a motion to dismiss in Carnelian Point Holdings v. Coalition Inc. , thanks largely to ambiguities in a cyber policy’s wording that muddied the role of managing general agent Coalition, which is based in San Francisco. Carnelian Point Holdings, doing business as Crash Champions in a Chicago suburb, bought a $10 million cyber insurance policy from Coalition in February 2023. A ransomware attack three months later shut down much of the company’s business. Coalition has since paid out more than $5 million on the resulting claim, but Crash Champions says it is still owed roughly $4.89 million. The policy’s declarations list six insurers as the parties obligated to pay covered losses, but Crash Champions is also suing Coalition Inc. and subsidiary Coalition Insurance Solutions. Judge Hanlon noted that those two companies’ “name and logo appear on nearly every page of the (policy) document.” Coalition argued that it promised nothing under the policy. But Judge Hanlon found the question is not so simple on this policy’s language. Coalition Insurance Solutions signed the policy’s signature page, which states the document is the entire contract “between us” and the insured. The policy’s coverage grants promise that “we” will pay covered losses, and defines “we, us or our” as “the Company providing this Policy” — a capitalized term the 113-page document never actually defines. “Crash Champions reads ‘the Company’ to mean the company whose name is on the cover, on the signature page, and on the claims mailbox,” the judge wrote. “That reading is reasonable. If Coalition intended the payment obligation to rest only with the quota share insurers, the Policy needed to say so with clarity.” Judge Hanlon also cited Coalition’s own post-loss conduct: According to the amended complaint, Coalition took in the claim, hired and directed forensic accountants, decided what to pay, and demanded a release in its own name before paying it. None of the insurers ever communicated directly with Crash Champions, the complaint alleges. These facts “prevent the Court from coming to (the) conclusion” that Coalition Insurance Solutions owes nothing, the judge wrote. Coalition Insurance Solution’s parent company, Coalition Inc., fared differently. Coalition Inc. attached to the policy a marketing brochure that says, “We provide comprehensive insurance coverage” and that “we’ll cover the costs” of a ransomware event, though those pages carry a footer disclaiming that it is not part of the policy. The judge found the attachment insufficient to establish a legal contract between Crash Champions and Coalition Inc., dismissing breach of contract and unreasonable delay claims against it. Coalition, like other managing general agents, is delegated authority by insurers to underwrite, bind, and settle claims on their behalf, without bearing the underwriting risk. It also provides cybersecurity services. A Coalition spokeswoman said the company does not comment on pending legal matters. 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