Erie Insurance calls on law enforcement to help unravel cyber problem

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The intersection of Stafford Avenue and Cherry Street in the city of Erie temporarily flooded after heavy rain fell around 5:30 p.m. June 9.

• Erie Insurance is experiencing an “information security event” and is working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts.
• Erie Insurance assures customers they will not solicit payments by phone or email and advises against clicking suspicious links.

Erie Insurance is working with law enforcement as the company attempts to determine the source of what it is calling an information security event.

The problem was discovered June 7 when the company’s information security team noticed unusual network activity.

That’s according to a new statement from the company, released on the afternoon of June 11.

Company explains its response

According to that statement, “We took immediate action to respond to the situation to safeguard our systems and data.”

That most recent announcement was the most explicit acknowledgement to date of the problem that has left the Erie-based Fortune 500 company unable to email or communicate with customers electronically.

The investigation is described by the company as ongoing.

Since the beginning of the week, the company has worked to bring phone systems online that have enabled customers to file claims or inquire about billing issues.

But the problem isn’t fixed yet.

Matthew Cummings, spokesman for Erie County’s largest employer, said in the statement: “We are working with law enforcement and conducting a comprehensive forensic analysis with the assistance of leading cybersecurity experts to gain a full understanding of the event.”

As the outage continues, the company offered guidance to customers.

“Erie Insurance will not call or email customers to request payments,” according to Cummings. “As a best practice, do not click on any links from unknown sources or provide your personal information by phone or email.”

The statement continued: “While the protective actions the company initiated are ongoing, our local agents, claims and customer care teams continue to support our customers.”

The company’s customer care department can be reached at 800-458-0811. Customers who need to report a claim can call 800-367-3743.

Philadelphia company faces its own problems

As of now, the company continues to take what it calls protective action to protect its systems.

This most recent update from Erie Insurance comes as another Pennsylvania-based insurance company is facing problems of its own.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies, an insurance company with about 2,000 employees based in the Philadelphia area, has posted a message on its website that says the company is experiencing a network outage.

More: Erie Insurance hit by major network outage, disrupting customer access and services

There is no word if the outages might be related.

Based on the scale of the company, Erie Insurance has a lot of customer data to protect.

The company, ranked by Fortune as the nation’s 323rd largest company, based on revenue, has more than 7 million insurance policies in force.

Contact Jim Martin at [email protected].