Last week, one of the world’s leading insurers released a new policy designed to help insureds cope with threats to their company’s brand and reputation.
This new coverage will assist an organization in finding, bringing in, and funding outside experts when there is either a potential or actual public relations crisis .
Companies often look for this type of assistance to formulate a response to an adverse event that could have a lasting impact on the firm’s reputation. Such public relations crisis events can range from an executive scandal, a product recall, or even an environmental disaster. Read more…
Three years after the financial crisis began, the U.S. capital markets continue to struggle to support many small companies and has forced some to turn to investors overseas in order to go public. A New York Times article earlier this month featured the story of Reva Medical, a medical device company who was denied a chance to list their stock here in the U.S., but found ready buyers of their shares in foreign markets. And they are not the only ones, there is a growing number of companies who are choosing foreign exchanges – 10 in 2010.
The Alternative Investment Market (AIM), part of the London Stock Exchange meant for small company listings, is popular destination for some American companies to go public, along with the Australian Securities Exchange. Read more…
Leading primary insurers for Directors’ & Officers’ Liability (D&O) have recently taken a big leap forward in their commitment to protecting individuals and the companies that indemnify them. Not since the introduction of “entity” coverage for securities related claims has the public D&O landscape seen such a dramatic change.
Many of these new primary coverage enhancements were previously available only via what is called “Side A Difference In Conditions Excess” policies. But with increased tension between Ds/Os and/or the company with respect to their perspectives as fiduciaries of the company, particularly if a company refuses or fails to indemnify the Ds/Os, the continued evolution of the claims process and a soft and somewhat overcrowded D&O market – public companies who in the know can take advantage and benefit from the increase in insurance coverage. For more insight into the changes, see our recent whitepaper for more details, or contact a member of our ExecutiveRisk team.
Today every company faces some kind of global challenge. We held an hour-long webcast earlier today that explored the complexities of protecting an international operation and spoke specifically on how to protect executives and board members, whether traveling overseas or those managing from the U.S. The list of nuances to consider within certain countries is endless, but we managed to touch on those that we see most often. We explored different exposures that foreign resident directors face when serving on the board of an international company, including the potential for both civil and criminal liabilities. For example, did you know that officers can be held personally liable in France if deemed to have mismanaged a company, or that a breach of data privacy in the U.K. is considered a criminal offense? We also touched on some countermeasures that can be taken to protect directors, officers and other management in these situations. If you have execs traveling overseas or coordinate a global insurance program, the recording of the presentation is worth checking out.
Last week, one of the world’s leading insurers released a new policy designed to help insureds cope with threats to their company’s brand and reputation.
