D & O Insurance

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dandowhattoknowAfter attending the PLUS D&O Symposium  some years ago, several colleagues at Partner Re thought it might be worthwhile to provide D&O insurance professionals with historical overview of the evolution of Directors and Officers insurance (D&O) in the US marketplace.   As a result, Brian Sabia, SVP Senior Underwriter Specialty lines; Catherine Rudow, SVP Senior Underwriter Specialty Lines; and Nicholas DeMartini, AVP Senior Underwriter Specialty Lines, all of Partner Reinsurance Company, drafted the following article, which starts with the Securities Act of 1933 and progresses through the relevant Acts, key court rulings, and the ups and downs that have driven the D&O insurance market and the evolving features of the D&O insurance policy. Their complete paper can be found here.

I would like to thank Brian, Catherine and Nicholas for their willingness to publish their article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the authors’ guest post.

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This paper provides an historical overview of the evolution of Directors and Officers insurance (D&O) in the U.S. market since 1933, taking you through the relevant acts, key court rulings, ups and downs of the market, as well as the evolving coverage features of D&O insurance. This paper is intended for the insurance professional as an additional introduction to this increasingly relevant and ever evolving management liability product. 
Continue Reading Guest Post: D&O What to Know: A Guide to the Evolution of Directors and Officers Insurance from 1933 to the Present

questionsBank directors often have many questions about their D&O insurance coverage, and rightly so. If significant reversals at the bank result in liability claims against the company’s senior officials, the bank’s D&O insurance could be the directors’ last line of defense. In this post, I address two issues that bank directors often ask about: first, does the bank’s D&O insurance cover civil money penalties? And, second, as the credit crisis retreats further into the past, when is the D&O insurance marketplace for banks going to “return to normal”?
Continue Reading Answering Bank Directors’ D&O Insurance Questions

dcctofappealsThe problems that can arise from the wording of the professional services exclusion in a service company’s D&O insurance policy are perennial issues and a recurring topic on this blog (see for example here). When the exclusion in a service company’s management liability policy is interpreted broadly the exclusion can sweep so extensively that it can preclude coverage for the very types of claims the management liability policy was intended to insure. A recent decision from the District of Columbia’s highest court highlights these concerns.

In a February 11, 2016 District of Columbia Court of Appeals decision (here), the appellate court, applying District of Columbia law, reversed a lower court ruling that the professional services exclusion in the management  liability insurance policy of defunct Carlyle Management LLC precluded coverage for the various claims that had been asserted against Carlyle, related entities, and its senior officials. The Court of Appeals did not affirmatively conclude that the underlying claims were covered; rather, it held only that the broadly worded professional liability exclusion was ambiguous, and that the question of coverage is properly a question for a factfinder. While the appellate court did not affirmatively find coverage, the court’s opinion underscores the concerns with interpreting and applying the professional liability exclusion in a service firm’s management liability insurance policy too broadly.
Continue Reading D.C. Appellate Court Reverses Ruling that Professional Services Exclusion Bars Coverage for Failed Investment Firm’s Claims

new jerseyAs anyone involved in D&O insurance knows, policyholders’ late provision of notice of claim is a recurring problem. All too often, delays in providing notice result in a preclusion of coverage, an outcome that I find in many cases to be troubling. Because of concerns about policyholders’ loss of coverage, some courts have held that an insurer must show that the late provision of notice prejudiced its interests in order to disclaim coverage. However, a number of other courts have also held that the “notice prejudice rule” does not apply to claims made policies.

Along these lines, on February 11, 2016, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that, at least where a “sophisticated” insured is involved, an insurer that contends that it was not provided with timely notice of claim under a claims made insurance policy does not have to show that it was prejudiced by the delayed provision of notice in order to disclaim coverage. The New Jersey Supreme Court’s opinion can be found here.

As I commented at the time when the intermediate appellate court reached the same conclusion in this case, I have some issues with this case and the way it all played out.
Continue Reading N.J. Sup. Ct.: Notice Prejudice Rule Does Not Apply to “Sophisticated” Insured’s Claims Made Policy

Ninth Circuit bitmapPublic company D&O insurance provides coverage for “Securities Claims.” But whose securities must be involved in a claim in order for coverage to be triggered? Must the claim involve the securities of the corporate policyholder itself? Or can coverage be triggered by a claim involving mortgage-backed securities the corporate policyholder issued as part of its financial operations?
Continue Reading D&O Insurance: Whose “Securities” Must a Claim Involve to Trigger Securities Claim Coverage?

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Donna Ferrara

In the following guest post, Donna Ferrara, Esq., Senior Vice-President, Managing Director, Management Liability Practice, Arthur J. Gallagher, takes a look at a recent federal appellate court decision highlighting the problems that can arise when anyone – including outside counsel – makes assumptions about insurance without actually looking at the relevant policies. Donna also examines the lessons that can be learned from this unfortunate case. My thanks to Donna for her willingness to publish her article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Donna’s guest post.
Continue Reading Guest Post: The Danger of Unfounded Assumptions

thnkerOne of the frequently recurring D&O insurance coverage issues is the question of whether or not the policyholder provided its insurer with timely notice of claim as required under the policy. This past week several readers sent me a copy of a recent decision in which a federal court denied coverage under a homeowners’ association’s D&O insurance policy because of the association’s untimely notice of claim. In light of the policy language involved, the facts at issue, and the court’s analysis, the court’s decision arguably is unremarkable. However, I found that after I read the decision, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the coverage denial meant for the homeowners’ association and its members. This in turn caused me to reflect upon the problems with late notice coverage disputes in general. After a brief discussion of the recent decision, I have set out below my thoughts about notice defenses.

The decision that triggered these thoughts was Central District of California Judge Jesus G. Bernal’s January 7, 2016 ruling in the coverage action brought by The Citrus Course Homeowners Association (HOA) against its D&O insurer. A copy of Judge Bernal’s decision can be found here.
Continue Reading D&O Insurance: Meditations on Late Notice

Fourth CircuitIn a December 30, 2015 unpublished per curiam opinion, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that a 2010 lawsuit filed to enforce a judgment was interrelated with the 2006 lawsuit in which the judgment had been entered, and therefore because the later was deemed first made at the time of the earlier lawsuit, the later suit was not covered under the management liability insurance policy in force when the later lawsuit was filed. The Fourth Circuit’s analysis is interesting in light of other recent appellate case law decisions interpreting D&O insurance policy’s interrelatedness provisions. A copy of the Fourth Circuit’s opinion can be found here.
Continue Reading D&O Insurance: Subsequent Claim Interrelated With Prior Lawsuit Not Covered Under Policy in Force at Time of Later Claim

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Joseph P. Monteleone

Among the perennial coverage issues arising under D&O and E&O policies are questions involving timely notice of claim. Recently, the notice provisions many professional liability insurance policies relating to notice timeliness have been revised to lengthen the time period within which notice must be given and even specifying that if in order to assert late notice of claim, an insurer must demonstrate that it has been prejudiced by the late provision of notice. In the following guest post, industry veteran and well-known insurer-side coverage attorney Joseph P. Monteleone of the Rivkin Radler law firm takes a look at these policy wording changes as well as the case law context within which these changes have arisen.

I would like to thank Joe for his willingness to publish his article on this blog. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to readers of this site. Please contact me directly if you are interested in submitting a guest blog post. Here is Joe’s guest post.

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One of the hallmarks of a claims-made and reported policy historically has been the two-pronged requirement that (1) the claim against the insured must be first made during the policy period, and (2) the claim had to be reported to the insurer, if not strictly within the policy period, at least no later than a “bright line” cut-off date after policy expiration.  These cut-off dates were generally thirty (30) or sixty (60) after policy expiration.

Contrast these with so-called pure claims-made policies, which have the first of the two-pronged component discussed above, but the reporting requirement is typically “as soon as practicable”[i], similar to reporting requirements under occurrence-triggered policies such as the Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy.

As part of the inexorable trend of policy wordings becoming ever broader for the benefit of the policyholder, notwithstanding any hardening or softening of rates for the policies, we have seen significant modifications to the policy reporting provisions.

Continue Reading Guest Post: Notice-Prejudice Requirements in D&O Policies: Diverse Trends in Contract Language and Case Law

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Michael J. Biles

Just about every publicly traded company and most private companies carry D&O insurance. It is just common sense in the current litigious environment. But while most companies recognize the need for D&O insurance, not every company maximizes its investment when purchasing the insurance. In the following guest post, Michael J. Biles, a partner in the Securities Litigation Group at King & Spalding LLP, takes a look based on his perspective as a securities litigator at ten common mistakes many companies make when buying their D&O insurance. In addition to the points Mike makes in his guest post, I would add that companies are likely to avoid these and other common mistakes if they take the time to ensure that the have enlisted the assistance of a knowledgeable and experienced broker in connection with their purchase of D&O insurance. 

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I would like to thank Mike for his willingness to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to readers of the blog. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Mike’s guest post.

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D&O insurance is a must-have for every public company.  The risks and costs of private lawsuits or government investigations are too great for any rational person to serve as an officer or director of a company without a solid D&O insurance policy.  After nearly twenty years of defending officers and directors in securities litigation, I have experienced firsthand the hardship caused by inadequate or inappropriate D&O insurance.  Contrary to public perception, most officers and directors of public companies are not extraordinarily wealthy – the cost of financing the defense of a securities class action, derivative lawsuit or government litigation (much less of funding a settlement) is too great to bear for most individuals without D&O insurance.

The following are the top ten mistakes that I’ve seen companies make in selecting D&O insurance.  Although some of these mistakes concern complex insurance coverage issues, I’ve prepared this article for the non-lawyer, stripped of legalese, so that officers and directors can discuss these issues with their insurance brokers to avoid these mistakes.  D&O insurance is a competitive industry.  While the core language of a standard D&O policy is generally fixed, companies can, and often do, negotiate better terms in endorsements to the policy. 
Continue Reading Guest Post: Ten Mistakes Companies Make When Buying D&O Insurance –A Securities Litigator’s Perspective