November 3, 2013
Business Insurance
Employment practices liability claims and mergers and acquisitions are leading to higher rates for mid-market private company directors and officers liability insurance.
Private company D&O coverage, also known as management liability insurance, usually has four components: D&O, EPL, fiduciary and crime coverage.
Observers say one important difference between private and public D&O policies is there is entity coverage available for the former, and most include duty-to-defend provisions.
Spiro K. Bantis, a partner with London Fischer L.L.P. in New York, said a frequent source of such claims is minority shareholders against stockholders who have a controlling interest.
Mr. Bantis also pointed to fiduciary coverage's inclusion within mid-market management liability policies.
“You don't have the controls necessary you might have with bigger companies, where you can afford more manpower and there are people watching other people,” Mr. Bantis said. People at mid-market companies may be “left to their own devices and, unfortunately, some of those people turn out to be dishonest.”
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