WASHINGTON - The CIA announced Monday that it will pay the full cost of legal liability insurance for about two-thirds of the agency's workforce.

The insurance costs about $300 a year. Until now the CIA has paid just half the annual premium. Only about 15 percent of eligible employees apply for reimbursement.

A change in government next year could make it more likely that lawsuits will be filed against CIA interrogators for a controversial program approved by President George W. Bush: the use of harsh interrogation techniques and the secret movement of prisoners, known as extraordinary rendition.

The insurance comes from private companies to cover legal expenses that arise out of actions undertaken in the course of a CIA officer's official duties. It is meant to cover potential litigation expenses, including damages. It covers legal expenses associated only with those activities undertaken after liability insurance is taken. The reimbursement program began in 2000.

Agency Director Michael Hayden announced Monday that he had expanded the pool of those eligible to be reimbursed for insurance to include all employees involved in covert activities, not just those involved in counterterrorism and counterproliferation.

Any agency employee who supervises one or more employees is eligible to be reimbursed, as will be attorneys, grievance officers, equal-employment-opportunity counselors, auditors, inspector-general inspectors and investigators, polygraph examiners, recruiters or hiring advisers and security officers.