This session’s panel provided insight into the policyholder’s expectations with regard to the scope of coverage being purchased and claims handling.  The panel discussed in detail what policyholders expect from their brokers and their insurers at the procurement stage, including during coverage negotiations and setting the broker’s fee, and also in the event of a claim. 

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Read More PLUS D&O Symposium Day 2: Afternoon Session II

During a candid discussion about his role as the federal government’s compensation czar, keynote speaker Kenneth Feinberg described his role in setting executive compensation for institutions that received substantial TARP funds. Though Mr. Feinberg agrees that, to an extent, his work is a “sideshow,” he made a compelling case that the true impact of his work has less to do with the companies that are subject to his mandate and more to do with those entities that voluntarily adopt his approach to executive compensation. 

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Read More PLUS D&O Symposium Day 2: Luncheon Speaker Kenneth Feinberg

This session’s panel began by discussing the role of brokers and the rising use of external legal consultants by insureds.  Panel members mostly agreed that the added use of these legal consultants, so long as the relationships among the all parties involved are managed correctly, are beneficial to ensure that insureds maximize their coverage. …
Read More PLUS D&O Symposium Day 2: Morning Session II

The Financial Services Authority (the FSA) has recently published a factsheet for general insurance providers entitled “Climate change thematic review: flooding – do your customers know what they are covered for?“. The factsheet has been published following an FSA review of whether general insurers are giving customers clear and accurate information about their cover. 

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Read More UK: The Financial Services Authority Publishes Factsheet for Insurers Providing Flood Insurance

In the case of Goldsmith Williams v Travelers Insurance Company Limited [2010] EWHC 26, Mr Justice Wyn Williams considered the question of whether a company had acted fraudulently. Goldsmith Williams brought a claim against Travelers Insurance Company Limited using the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930 (the 1930 Act). …
Read More UK: High Court Finds that Claim is Excluded as a Result of Director’s Aiding and Abetting

The criminal proceedings in Turin against the former heads of asbestos giant Eternit (as previously reported here) have taken a new turn. A civil case has been linked to the criminal trial and both the European Union (EU) and the Italian Government have been named as civil defendants. It has been reported that 4,000 people have asked to join the case as plaintiffs, and 3,000 people are due to give evidence. 

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Read More Italy: Italian Government and EU are Named as Defendants in Eternit Asbestos Proceeding

In LIDL v Just Fitness Ltd [2010] EWHC 39 (Ch) the Court was asked to decide whether an arbitrator had jurisdiction to determine a particular issue in a dispute, which was alleged to have been addressed in a previous arbitration. …
Read More UK: High Court Rules That any Issue Covered by a Tribunal’s Terms of Reference Cannot be Adjudicated in a Subsequent Arbitration