Insurance Coverage Issues Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act

Webinar Recording

Event Sponsor: Strafford

On March 20, 2025, Calfee Insurance Coverage and Insurance Recovery Senior Counsel Tae Andrews co-presented a 90-minute CLE presentation for Strafford, "Insurance Coverage Issues Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act."

The webinar, which is now available as a recorded event, discussed an insurer's duty to defend and indemnify its policyholder in connection with allegations of enabling or profiting from sex trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). Since it was originally enacted and subsequently reauthorized, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed across the U.S. under the TVPRA, and the number of new filings has increased over the years, including filings against businesses in the hospitality, transportation, technology, sports and entertainment, supply chain, and international staffing industries. 

TVPRA-related claims tend to be expensive to defend, have a high degree of complexity, and can entail unlimited damages and attorneys' fee awards. Determining whether existing insurance policies will respond to sexual tort cases and cases under the TVPRA is also a complex issue, as numerous exclusions in multiple policies must be navigated and some insurers have recently sought to deny coverage on public policy grounds.

Tae and the co-presenters started the webinar with a detailed explanation of the TVPRA and comparable state legislation, including highlighting significant legal developments and litigation matters. They also discussed insurance coverage issues for TVPRA, including the various types of coverage and coverage triggers as well as exclusions.

This presentation may be of special interest to in-house counsel and risk managers – and especially those in the hospitality, transportation, technology, sports and entertainment, supply chain, and international staffing industries – who want to stay current on related insurance coverage issues, lawsuits, and decisions.

The on-demand version of the presentation is available online at staffordpub.com.

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Calfee’s Policyholder Insurance Coverage practice group has helped its clients manage and protect nearly $2 billion in insurance assets in recent years. The team, whose principal purpose for more than 25 years has been to help clients protect against and mitigate risk through the use of insurance, serves corporate insurance policyholder clients in Ohio and nationwide. They collaborate with and counsel clients on all aspects of their insurance coverage legal needs. 

Calfee’s Insurance Coverage attorneys provide advisory and claims services, assisting clients with the placement and enhancement of their insurance policies, reviews of their existing policies, shaping and pursuing claims to get losses paid by their insurance companies, negotiating resolutions to disputed insurance claims, litigating coverage lawsuits against their insurers, and finding solutions for insurance coverage issues in corporate M&A deals. They have experience with a wide array of policy types, from newer products such as cyber and M&A representations and warranties insurance, to more traditional policy forms such as commercial general liability (CGL), umbrella, excess, property, D&O, professional liability, and EPL policies, to more specialized policies such as builder’s risk, liquor, and aviation.

Two of Calfee's Insurance Coverage partners are among only 23 lawyers in the state of Ohio certified as Insurance Coverage Law Specialists by the Ohio State Bar Association.

Calfee has been recognized as a Leading Law Firm for Insurance: Policyholder in Ohio by Chambers USA, most recently in Band 1 in Ohio (2024) and is one of only three law firms ranked in this practice in the state. Chambers USA commentators note that "The team boasts an impressive reputation with decades of experience in policyholder insurance representation. Calfee is well known for its capabilities in risk mitigation and cost recovery strategies and provides representation in all aspects of insurance coverage policy disputes, including those surrounding M&A transactions. The firm has an impressive roster of clients that includes those in the academic, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors."