The directors’ and officers’ liability environment is always changing, but 2020 was a particularly eventful year, with important consequences for the D&O insurance marketplace. The past year’s many developments also have significant implications for what may lie ahead in 2021 – and possibly for years to come. I have set out below the Top Ten D&O Stories of 2020, with a focus on the future implications. Please note that on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 11:00 AM EST, my colleague Marissa Streckfus and I will be conducting a free, hour-long webinar in which we will discuss The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2020. Registration for the webinar can be found here. I hope you will please join us for the webinar.
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PLUS COVID-19 Perspectives: The Latest D&O Update
As part of a continuing series, I have been participating in sessions that the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) has organized addressing the potential D&O liability and insurance issues arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak. I have been joined in these recorded sessions by my good friends Carl Metzger of the Goodwin Procter law firm
Guest Post: When a Wealthy Individual, Not D&O Insurance, Indemnifies Directors
Many readers undoubtedly have heard that, in lieu of D&O insurance, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has personally agreed to protect the company’s board with an indemnification undertaking. In the following guest post, Priya Cherian Huskins discusses another situation in which a company official has agreed to indemnify the company’s directors in lieu of insurance, and discusses the issues and implications of this type of arrangement. Priya is a Senior Vice President and Partner at Woodruff Sawyer. A version of this article previously appeared in the D&O Notebook. I would like to thank Priya 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 blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Priya’s article.
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PLUS Perspectives on Coronavirus Outbreak: Latest D&O Focus Update
As part of a continuing series, I have been participating in sessions that the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) has organized addressing the potential D&O liability and insurance issues arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak. I have been joined in these recorded sessions by my good friends Carl Metzger of the Goodwin Procter law firm
Next Up: PPP Investigations, Enforcement Actions, and Criminal Proceedings?
One of the features of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is intended to make governmental funds available in the form forgivable loans so that small businesses can keep employees on their payroll. The CARES Act was passed in a rush and the PPP funds were dispersed in a hurry, so it is hardly a surprise that some problems might emerge. The U.S. Department of Justice has already said that as a result of a preliminary inquiry, the agency has already found possible fraud among the businesses seeking PPP funds. As discussed below, the possibility of further PPP investigative, regulatory, and enforcement actions raises a number of questions.
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Guest Post: Beware the Unexpected Consequences of “Standard” D&O Exclusions
In the following guest post, Francis Kean takes a look at the potential impact on COVID 19-related claims of standard D&O insurance policy exclusions. Francis is a Partner, Financial Lines, at McGill and Partners. A version of this article previously was published as a McGill client alert. I would like to thank Francis for allowing me to publish his 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 Francis’s article.
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Guest Post: The Dangers of COVID-19 Exclusions in D&O Policies
As the coronavirus outbreak has unfolded , one of the steps that insurers have been taking in response is to try to add coronavirus or pandemic exclusions to policyholders’ go-forward policies, in some instances included with respect to D&O insurance. In the following guest post, Francis Kean takes a look at an example of this type of exclusion. Francis is a Partner, Financial Lines, at McGill and Partners. A version of this article previously was published as part of a McGill client alert. I would like to thank Francis for allowing me to publish his 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 Francis’s article.
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2020 PLUS D&O Symposium in New York
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, The D&O Diary was at the annual PLUS D&O Symposium at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square in New York. It was another successful conference — and indeed given the state of the D&O marketplace, there was certainly a lot to talk about this year.
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Top Ten Stories in D&O Webinar on January 14, 2020
I know that with the holidays just around the corner, most people are focused on clearing off their desks and getting out of town, rather than on what they are going to be doing the second week of January. Just the same, I want to encourage everyone to get out their calendars and note the
The Deteriorating D&O Insurance Environment for Foreign U.S.-Listed Companies
For many years, U.S.-listed companies based outside the U.S. have enjoyed a relatively advantageous pricing environment for their D&O insurance. Because many D&O insurance underwriters based outside the U.S. used a different pricing model than their U.S. counterparts, pricing for these foreign filers was in many instances lower than the pricing available to equivalent U.S.-based companies. In recent months, however, as a result of surging claims frequency and loss costs, foreign filers’ D&O insurance costs have jumped significantly. These developments and the claims-related factors causing the changes are detailed in an interesting March 20, 2019 article by Jane Njavro of Woodruff Sawyer entitled “Why D&O Costs Are Soaring for Foreign Filers” (here). The article includes detailed statistical analysis of the relevant U.S. securities class action litigation trends.
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