Investors whose fortunes were tied to Bernard Madoff and his firm have already been counting (and mourning) their losses. But for the insurers that provided coverage for financial firms targeted in the Madoff-related litigation, the losses have only just begun to accumulate.
How high the insurance losses ultimately may run remains to be seen
As the details about the Satyam Computer Services scandal have emerged and the U.S. securities lawsuits have begun to flood in, questions have also arisen about Satyam’s D&O insurance. At least some of the questions are answered in a January 8, 2009 article in The Economic Times (India’s largest financial daily) entitled "Satyam Scam Triggers
2008 was a remarkably eventful year, from the dramatic events that rocked the financial markets to the Presidential election that resulted in a change in national leadership. Virtually all of the significant events during 2008 also had an impact on the world of D&O insurance, one way or another. In all likelihood, significant developments will
The initiation of a criminal investigation against a company or its directors and officers can be a watershed moment in the life of any company. In addition to the question of how it will respond, the company must also determine how it will fund the associated legal expense. It is at this critical juncture that
A December 15, 2008 opinion (here) in a Delaware bankruptcy court adversary proceeding provides a rare judicial interpretation of an "inadequate consideration" exclusion in a D&O insurance policy. I have reproduced with permission below a summary of the case prepared by the Wiley Rein law firm, followed by my own brief commentary. The
In a deeply troublesome decision, the New York Department of Insurance has issued an October 16, 2008 opinion (here) stating that "a D&O policy may not include a provision that places the duty to defend upon the insured, rather than the insurer." A December 5, 2008 memo (here) written by Carrie Cope
A recent appellate court opinion interpreting a D&O liability insurance policy securities exclusion carries some important reminders both about policy wording precision and about exclusionary language, and also raises some critical questions about the scope of coverage for securities claims generally.
In an October 27, 2008 opinion (here), the Eighth Circuit, applying
This past week, in conjunction with the PLUS International Conference in San Francisco, the insurance information firm Advisen issued an updated forecast of insurance losses likely to arise from the credit crisis. As reflected in its November 5, 2008 press release (here), Advisen is now estimating aggregate D&O and E&O losses of $9.6
For many companies, one of the most challenging parts of the Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance procurement process is determining how much insurance to purchase. Against a backdrop of basic affordability, the company must consider complex issues such as limits adequacy – that is, how much insurance is enough?
Determining limits adequacy is even
One of the most closely followed recent case developments in the D&O insurance arena is the ruling in the CNL Hotels & Resorts case that a Section 11 settlement did not represent covered loss under a D&O insurance policy. As I noted in a recent post (here), on August 18, 2008, the CNL