U.S. insurers and brokers see a potential market opening up after a New York state lawmaker this month introduced legislation that would require individual officers to carry liability coverage for lawsuits alleging excessive force, abuse or other misconduct.
Currently, most police officers rely on municipalities to cover legal costs and payouts to victims, either from public funds or blanket insurance. Critics say that provides no incentive for officers to check their behavior, often leaving taxpayers on the hook. New York City paid $220 million last year for police department settlements of civil lawsuits, far more than any other of the city’s agencies, public data show.

Europe’s highest court last week cited concerns about U.S. surveillance for its ruling, disrupting thousands of companies that had depended on the four-year-old Privacy Shield to transfer Europeans’ personal data for payroll, finance and other uses.