On July 18, 2023, Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company, its affiliate MedChoice Risk Retention Group, Inc., and its subsidiary Experix, LLC (collectively “Physicians Insurance”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Montana after discovering that an unauthorized party gained access to an employee’s email account. In this notice, Physicians Insurance explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, contact information, medical treatment information, and health insurance information. Upon completing its investigation, Physicians Insurance began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft as well as discuss your legal options following the Physicians Insurance data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Physicians Insurance Breach?

The Physicians Insurance data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Physicians Insurance’s filing with the Attorney General of Montana provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on March 2, 2023, Physicians Insurance detected unauthorized access to an employee’s work email account. In response, Physicians Insurance shut down the affected email account, reset employee passwords, and then launched an investigation with the help of outside cybersecurity specialists.

The Physicians Insurance investigation confirmed that the unauthorized access was limited to a single employee’s email account, which occurred on May 2, 2023. And while Physicians Insurance did not find any evidence that emails or attachments were downloaded by the unauthorized party, the company could not rule out unauthorized access. Physicians Insurance also determined that some of the files, attachments and emails within the affected account contained confidential consumer information.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Physicians Insurance reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, date of birth, contact information, medical treatment information, and health insurance information.

On July 18, 2023, Physicians Insurance sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of which information of theirs was compromised.

More Information About Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company

Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company is an insurance company based out of Seattle, Washington. Physicians Insurance provides various insurance products to physicians, clinics, healthcare facilities, hospitals, and related single/multi-state associations throughout Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon. Physicians Insurance employs more than 135 people and generates approximately $252 million in annual revenue.