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Intellectual Property Insurance in South Carolina

South Carolina allows exemplary damages up to twice the actual-loss award for willful, wanton, or reckless trade-secret misappropriation. Ask whether the policy excludes punitive or exemplary damages and whether defense costs are still covered. 2

What Is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property insurance comes in two separate parts: defense, when you're accused of infringing a patent, trademark or copyright, and enforcement, when you pursue someone who copied yours. A defense-only quote doesn't pay for your own lawsuit, so ask for each part you need. Read the national Intellectual property guide.

What to Watch for in South Carolina

  • Match the State Rule to Your Coverage

    South Carolina allows exemplary damages up to twice the actual-loss award for willful, wanton, or reckless trade-secret misappropriation. Ask whether the policy excludes punitive or exemplary damages and whether defense costs are still covered. 2

  • Plan for the State Remedy

    South Carolina permits attorney-fee awards for a bad-faith misappropriation claim, a bad-faith injunction motion, or willful misappropriation. Review how the policy treats claimant fee requests and your own defense expenses. 2

  • Check the Policy Against the Claim

    South Carolina gives three years from discovery, or when reasonable diligence should discover the misuse, and treats continuing misappropriation as one claim. Make sure your incident process records the first sign of misuse. 2

Who Regulates Insurance in South Carolina

South Carolina Department of Insurance

The South Carolina Department of Insurance licenses and regulates insurance companies and producers and accepts complaints involving entities it licenses and policies incepted in South Carolina. Its consumer page links to the online complaint form and explains limits on the Department’s authority. 3,4,5

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 6% blended broker premium tax: 4% state plus 2% municipal SCDOI’s January 2026 instructions set a 6% blended surplus-lines broker premium tax: 4% state and 2% municipal; the Department collects both and the Municipal Association of South Carolina allocates the municipal share. The filing system also asks brokers to identify one to three insurers that declined the indicated coverage; check the policy notice for any guaranty-association disclosure. 6,7

Providers With Documented State Licenses

No provider in Spot’s research documents both a state license record and this coverage line. This does not establish that providers are unlicensed. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm availability with a provider when requesting a quote.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in South Carolina

  1. Are exemplary damages and attorney-fee claims excluded, and are defense costs still covered?
  2. Does the policy respond to an injunction request before damages are known?
  3. What incident date starts the policy’s notice requirement for a suspected secret leak?

Intellectual Property in South Carolina: FAQ

What is the key South Carolina rule for a trade-secret claim? 2

South Carolina allows exemplary damages up to twice the actual-loss award for willful, wanton, or reckless trade-secret misappropriation. Ask whether the policy excludes punitive or exemplary damages and whether defense costs are still covered. 2

How should I handle a suspected intellectual-property claim in South Carolina? 2,1

Notify the insurer promptly and preserve the first demand, access logs, agreements, and discovery date. South Carolina gives three years from discovery, or when reasonable diligence should discover the misuse, and treats continuing misappropriation as one claim. Make sure your incident process records the first sign of misuse. The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act is a separate claim with its own filing period. 2,1

Intellectual Property in Other States

Other Coverage in South Carolina

Sources

  1. 18 U.S.C. § 1836, Civil Proceedings. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives; § 1836(b)(1), (3): federal civil action, injunction, and damages for qualifying trade secret misappropriation. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. South Carolina Trade Secrets Act. South Carolina Legislature; §§ 39-8-20–100: definition, remedies, confidentiality, and limitations. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  3. south-carolina insurance regulator. State insurance regulator; Official home and consumer services pages describe regulator scope. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. SCDOI Online Services. State insurance regulator; General Public offers Licensee Lookup for licensed individuals and insurers. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. SCDOI Consumer Services. State insurance regulator; Complaint process and stated authority covers licensed entities and policies incepted in SC; online complaint form is linked. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. 2026 Surplus Lines Filing Instructions. South Carolina Department of Insurance; Pages 1–2, January 26 2026 memo: 6% blended rate, 4% state plus 2% municipal; DOI collects both and MASC allocates municipal portion. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. 2026 Surplus Lines Filing Instructions. South Carolina Department of Insurance; Pages 1–2, Jan. 26, 2026 instructions: broker filing due-diligence field requires one to three named insurers declining the indicated coverage. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  9. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  10. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  11. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  12. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  13. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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