directors and officers liability insurance

In a decision that gives broad effect to a D&O insurance policy’s contractual liability exclusion, on August 17, 2012, Middle District of Pennsylvania Judge William Nealon granted the insurer’s motion for summary judgment, holding under Pennsylvania law that the insurer had no obligation to defend or indemnify the policyholder in the underlying action. A copy

Most management liability insurance policies these days are written on a claims made basis – -that is, they cover claims that are first made during the policy period. But what determines when a claim is first made? A February 15, 2012 decision from the Western District of Texas and applying Texas law took a look

A liability insurance policy is not intended to provide policyholders a means to shift to the insurer their separate, voluntarily undertaken contractual obligations. Private company D&O insurance policies generally embody this principle in a separate exclusionary provision. However, the wording of the exclusionary clause can substantially affect the scope of coverage otherwise available under the

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

In a June 25, 2008 decision (here), the Delaware Superior Court (New Castle County) refused to apply a D&O policy adjudicated fraud exclusion to preclude coverage for the settlement, defense fees and costs incurred in connection with an underlying securities lawsuit.

The coverage action arose out of the AT&T Corporation Securities Litigation