Insurance archaeology may help identify historical liability insurance that can support defense and settlement obligations in sexual abuse and molestation claims.
By: James Pawlish
Sexual abuse, assault, and molestation litigation has expanded rapidly in recent years as states reform statutes of limitation and open revival windows, allowing previously time-barred claims to move forward. These legal changes have created significant exposure for institutions such as schools, churches, youth organizations, healthcare providers, nonprofits, and municipalities. Allegations may involve conduct that occurred decades ago, and defending these claims can require substantial financial resources.
These developments have also driven a sharp increase in demand for insurance archaeology. Over the past several years, school districts, youth-based organizations, religious institutions, and municipalities across the country have engaged PolicyFind’s insurance archaeologists to locate historical liability policies that may respond to revived abuse claims.
Many attorneys and institutions are unaware that liability policies issued decades earlier may still provide coverage for defense and settlements today. When these policies are identified and reconstructed through insurance archaeology, they can represent critical financial resources that allow organizations to respond responsibly and compassionately to survivors while addressing complex litigation.
For institutions and counsel handling these matters, identifying historical insurance coverage can play an important role in evaluating what financial resources may be available.
Child Victims Acts and Revival Laws Are Driving New Litigation
One of the primary drivers behind the expansion of sexual abuse litigation is the passage of Child Victims Acts (CVAs) and similar statute-of-limitations reforms across the United States.
Historically, many survivors were unable to pursue civil claims because legal deadlines expired before they were prepared to come forward. In response, numerous states have enacted laws expanding statutes of limitation or opening revival windows that allow previously time-barred claims to proceed.
Several states have played particularly important roles in this legal shift.
New York Child Victims Act (2019)
New York opened a revival window that resulted in thousands of lawsuits involving abuse allegations dating back decades.
New Jersey Child Victims Act (2019)
New Jersey expanded its statute of limitations and opened a revival window that triggered substantial litigation.
Louisiana Child Victims Act (2021)
Louisiana created a revival window allowing survivors to file lawsuits regardless of when the abuse occurred. After legal challenges, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the law, and the revival window remains open through June 2027.
Maryland Child Victims Act (2023)
Maryland eliminated many restrictions on when survivors may file civil lawsuits. In February 2025, the Maryland Supreme Court upheld the law’s permanent revival window.
Additional legislative activity continues nationwide for civil child sexual abuse claims, while states such as Maine and Vermont have also opened lookback and revival windows. Because many of these lawsuits involve alleged conduct that occurred decades earlier, insurance policies issued during those same periods may now play a central role in addressing the claims.
Sexual Abuse and Molestation Litigation Is Expanding Nationwide
While early waves of sexual abuse litigation were concentrated in New York, New Jersey, and California, organizations nationwide are increasingly confronting historical abuse allegations and examining potential insurance assets that may respond to those claims.
Legislative reforms and evolving legal standards continue to reshape this area of liability nationwide, underscoring the importance of understanding historical insurance programs before claims arise.
These legislative developments can involve allegations tied to:
- Schools and educational institutions
- Churches and religious organizations
- Youth organizations and camps
- Sports programs and athletic associations
- Healthcare providers
- Nonprofit organizations
- Municipalities and public institutions
In many cases, the alleged misconduct may have occurred decades earlier.
Why Investigating Historical Insurance Coverage is Key
Attorneys handling sexual abuse and molestation litigation on behalf of educational institutions, religious organizations, and nonprofit organizations are increasingly examining historical insurance coverage early in the matter. That’s because many claims involve alleged conduct that occurred decades earlier, and occurrence-based liability policies issued during those same periods may provide coverage for defense costs and settlements or identify financial resources that may help institutions respond to allegations involving earlier policy years.
For attorneys representing survivors, identifying insurance coverage may expand the financial resources available to resolve claims. For defense counsel, early insurance archeology may help identify historical policies before records become harder to locate, witnesses become unavailable, or coverage questions become more difficult to evaluate.
The best time to reconstruct an institution’s historical policies was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.
Sexual Abuse Insurance Coverage May Exist in Historical Liability Policies
Despite the age of many allegations, historical liability insurance policies may still provide coverage for these claims. In many cases, Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies issued decades ago did not contain the sexual abuse or molestation exclusions commonly found in later policies. Depending on the policy language and the facts of the claim, those earlier policies may respond to allegations involving conduct that occurred during the policy period.
Coverage under historical policies may include:
- Defense costs related to litigation
- Settlement payments
- Indemnity obligations
- Coverage across multiple policy years
Because many allegations involve conduct that allegedly occurred over extended periods, multiple insurance policies and policy years may be triggered.
Insurance Archaeology and Locating Historical Insurance Policies
Many organizations no longer have copies of their historical insurance policies.
Insurance documents may have been discarded, destroyed, or lost during leadership transitions, relocations, or simply through the passage of time.
Insurance archaeology is the specialized practice of locating and documenting evidence of historical insurance policies that may have been lost or destroyed. This work typically requires trained investigators who understand historical insurance markets, legacy policy forms, and the types of records that may contain indirect evidence of coverage.
PolicyFind’s investigations often begin with boots-on-the-ground research, reviewing archived records, storage files, and historical correspondence. Investigators also examine corporate records such as meeting minutes, accounting ledgers, and annual reports while cross-referencing findings with proprietary insurer databases and historical policy libraries. Even when original policies cannot be located, experienced insurance archaeologists can often identify secondary evidence that helps document the existence and terms of historical coverage.
Turning Evidence into a Clear Coverage Map
Once evidence of historical insurance coverage is located, organizing that information becomes equally important. Insurance archaeology investigations typically involve building detailed coverage maps that identify policy periods, insurers, and layers of coverage. This helps legal teams and insurers to evaluate how coverage may apply and helps institutions understand what financial resources may exist.
Explore Whether Historical Insurance Coverage Exists
Organizations facing sexual abuse or molestation claims may have insurance assets that are no longer visible in their records. Investigating historical insurance coverage can help determine whether liability policies issued decades earlier may respond to current claims.
PolicyFind assists attorneys and organizations with insurance archaeology, helping locate and reconstruct legacy insurance policies that may fund defense and settlements related to sexual abuse litigation. Through decades of investigations, PolicyFind has helped institutions uncover long-lost coverage that allows them to respond to difficult situations with integrity and compassion.
Our team conducts confidential insurance archaeology investigations to identify lost or destroyed liability policies that may respond to claims involving conduct alleged to have occurred decades earlier.