MADISON, Wis. — TruStage said it has restored additional contact center, billing, claims and retirement services as the insurance and financial services company continues recovering from a cyberattack that disrupted operations beginning in July.
In its latest update to credit union partners, TruStage Chief Administrative Officer Greg Holman said the company has made significant progress but acknowledged that recovery remains incomplete.
“While we’ve made progress, we have not reached the finish line,” Holman said. “We know there is more work to do.”
Shift in Recovery Efforts
TruStage said its recovery efforts are increasingly shifting from restoring foundational technology infrastructure to improving customer experiences and expanding services available to members, customers and credit union partners.
Among the latest developments, TruStage said contact centers serving its Retirement, Consumer Insurance, Annuity and Pension Risk Transfer businesses are operating again. Those centers have handled more than 42,000 calls since Aug. 13, with most inquiries involving billing, payments and policies, according to the company.
The company also said monthly ACH billing for consumer products has resumed across multiple products and payment methods. Policies remain active while TruStage works through payment issues involving customers who may have missed payments during the outage or use other payment methods.
Claims Processing Resumes in Some Areas
Claims processing also has resumed in several areas. TruStage said it is paying GAP claims submitted before the outage, recurring debt protection and credit insurance benefits for larger-volume credit unions, and certain life insurance claims.
The company continues to work through both claims that were pending when the disruption occurred and newly submitted claims.
TruStage also reported additional progress in restoring retirement and wealth management services. Most defined contribution plan participants can now request withdrawals, loans and rollovers and obtain pre-outage account balances through available servicing channels.
Certain annuity death claim processing also has resumed, and key service forms are available online.
TruStage reiterated that the cyberattack did not affect annuity or retirement plan assets.
Interim Digital Portal
The company also launched an interim digital portal Aug. 19 that allows most 401(k) clients to electronically submit payroll contributions.
TruStage said payroll files submitted through the portal before Sept. 1 with payroll check dates after July 2 will be processed using the original payroll check date until processing is current. Files will be processed in order by check date.
The update follows confirmation from cybersecurity firm Mandiant that TruStage has established a “clean, isolated environment” separate from systems that were affected, potentially affected or remain under investigation following the cyberattack.
As the CU Daily previously reported, TruStage previously said it detected unusual activity July 11, shut down systems as a precaution and brought in Mandiant to investigate the incident and assist with recovery.
The company has been gradually restoring operations through the isolated environment while investigating the scope of the attack.
TruStage also said AM Best recently affirmed its A (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating, which has not changed as a result of the incident.
‘Actions, Not Words’
Holman said TruStage recognizes the disruption has created difficulties for credit unions and their members and that additional work remains.
“We know trust is rebuilt through actions, not words,” Holman said. “That’s why our focus remains on restoring capabilities, improving customer experiences, and providing transparency about both the progress we’ve made and the work that remains.”
TruStage said it will continue posting information about service availability and restoration progress through its online outage hub and a new Recovery Status Dashboard for credit union partners.
