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Kevin LaCroix

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Kevin M. LaCroix is an attorney and Executive Vice President, RT ProExec, a division of RT Specialty. RT ProExec is an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on management liability issues.

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Umesh Pratapa

The typical U.S. D&O insurance policy does not provide coverage for fines and penalties. The standard definition of Loss in U.S. D&O insurance policies provides that Loss does not include “fines, penalties, and matters deemed uninsurable under applicable law.” The situation may be different in some countries outside the U.S. In the following guest post, Umesh Pratapa, considers the question of the extent to which D&O policies may under certain circumstances provide coverage for fines and penalties. Umesh is the Author of the handbook on D&O liability insurance published by Institute of Directors (IOD), India, and Consultant – liability insurance. I would like to thank Umesh for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Umesh’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: D&O Insurance – Coverage for Penalties: New Insights from Recent Australian Judgement

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and processes are becoming increasingly pervasive in many industry sectors and in many phases of business. AI use is also spreading to corporate processes and functions. For example, as I recently noted, some companies many be using AI tools to draft the MD&A in their periodic reports. And, at least according to a recent post in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance by lawyers from the Debevoise law firm, some corporate boards may be “adopting AI meeting tools to assist with the drafting of board and committee minutes.” As the memo’s authors note, board adoption of AI tools for these purposes may offer some benefits, but the use of the tools also entails risk, which board members will want to take into account in using the tools.

The June 23, 2025, law firm memo, entitled “AI Can Draft Board Minutes – But Should It? Considerations for Public Companies,” can be found here.Continue Reading AI Tools in the Boardroom

Sarah Abrams

One of the standard D&O policy exclusions is the Insured vs. Insured (IvI) Exclusion, which precludes coverage for claims brought by one insured against another insured. This exclusion is usually subject to a number of coverage carve-backs preserving coverage for certain kinds of claims that would otherwise be excluded. Many exclusions include carve backs for dilution claims (the Dilution Claims Exception), a provision that is not often tested. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the larger context of AI regulation, takes a look at a recent case interpreting and apply in the Dilution Claims Exception. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article. Continue Reading Guest Post: Diluting I v I

The costs companies incur in responding to an SEC investigation can be substantial. Companies incurring these kinds of costs are sometimes surprised to learn that their D&O insurance policies may not, and likely will not, cover these kinds of costs, at least under most insurer’s base policy forms.

A recent Delaware Superior Court decision involved a company’s attempt to secure coverage for the costs it incurred in responding to an SEC investigation after the company had agreed to toll the statute of limitations. The Court found that while the tolling request was a Claim within the meaning of the company’s policy, it was not a Securities Claim, as would be required in order for the policy’s entity coverage to be triggered. As discussed below, the Court’s decision provides an opportunity to think about the optional entity investigative cost coverage extension. A copy of the Delaware Superior Court’s June 30, 2025, opinion can be found here.Continue Reading D&O Insurance: Tolling Agreement Is a Claim, But Not a Securities Claim

In my recent write-up about the number of securities class action lawsuit filings in the first half of 2025, I noted that there had been a significant drop off in the number of COVID-19-related securities suit filings in the first six months of 2025 compared to last year. The interesting thing is that though there has been an unmistakable drop off in the number of COVID-related securities suit filings, the fact is that now – even after more than five years since the initial COVID outbreak in the U.S. — new COVID-related securities suits are still being filed. In the latest example, late last month a shareholder filed a securities suit against Petco Health and Wellness, alleging the pet supply company had misleadingly contended that the company’s pandemic-related tailwinds could be sustained post-pandemic. A copy of the new Petco complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Pet Supply Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit

In recognition of the upcoming Independence Day holiday in the U.S., and in what has become an annual tradition, I am reprising my 2012 essay about Time and Summer, which can be found here. I have added some new pictures this year, so even if you have read the essay in the past, you…

Sarah Abrams

If you have been following the news out of Washington surrounding the One Big Beautiful Bill, you know that one of the features of the Bill, passed by the House of Representatives, was a provision barring states from enacting laws or regulations relating to AI for ten years. It looks like this provision will not be part of the Senate version of the bill, but the provision still raises important questions about AI regulation. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the larger context of AI regulation. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: One Beautiful Attempt to Stop State AI Regulation

As part of my day job, I attend a lot of insurance conferences, including some in foreign venues. A frequent feature of these conferences is expert conjecture about areas of emerging liability risk. In recent years, one frequently discussed area of concern has been emerging liability issues arising from the use of GLP-1 drugs. Many readers will be familiar with the branded GLP-1 products such as Ozempic, for treatment of type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, for weight loss treatment. There already are, in fact, growing numbers of product liability claims concerning GLP-1 drugs, as discussed below.  

I have long wondered whether D&O claims relating to GLP-1 drugs might also emerge. In an interesting development last week, plaintiff shareholders filed two separate GLP-1-related securities class action lawsuits against telehealth platform Hims & Hers Health, when the company’s share price plunged after Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, pulled its agreement allowing Hims to distribute the drug on its platform. Although the allegations in the new lawsuits against Hims are arguably specific to Hims, the lawsuits nevertheless are securities suits relating to GLP-1 drugs. As discussed further below, I continue to believe that issues relating to GLP-1 drugs are a potential area of emerging D&O risk.  Continue Reading Thinking About GLP-1 Drugs and D&O Risk

Sarah Abrams

For a variety of reasons, alternative fundraising vehicles are currently gaining in popularity. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a closer look at Equity Crowdfunding and RegA offerings and related potential liability issues. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s guest post. Continue Reading Guest Post: GoFundMe Securities