Directors and Officers Coverage

What is Directors & Officers Liability?

Directors & Officers Liability commercial insurance helps protect your firm’s assets and the assets of its directors and officers. Exposures would include fiduciary breaches, regulatory actions, misrepresentation, and commercial securities. A commercial insurance policy would provide coverage for defense costs and damages (awards and settlements) arising out of any wrongful act allegations and lawsuits brought against a firm’s board of directors and/or officers.
Claims filed against Directors and Officers have increased considerably over the past ten years. Actions such as a merger or acquisition, signs of the firm’s weakening financial situation, alleged conflicts of interest are just a few of the issues that may cause the employees, shareholders, customers and the government to make claims against the directors and officers.
Not only can commercial insurance help protect the firm’s, directors and officers assets but the personal assets of the director’s or officer’s spouse, partner or the deceased director’s or officer’s estate.

Most Directors & Officers and Employment Practices Liability policies exclude claims for ERISA violations. The Fiduciary Liability policy is designed to protect a firm’s directors, officers, natural person trustees, and employees from the costs of defense and litigation. Protecting the fiduciaries of employee benefit plans can be complicated.
As a ‘Fiduciary’ you will be held personally liable if you are not following the plan documents, you weren’t acting with the skill, diligence and care that a normal prudent person would use, or not acting in the best interests of the participants of the plan.