LIU Creates D&O Coverage to Protect Against Global Warming Litigation

Liberty International Underwriters, a part of Liberty Mutual Group, has created Private Advantage Company Combo policy to provide broad private company management coverage for directors and officers, employment practices liability, fiduciary, pollution defense and standard ISO crime fidelity.

While many D&O policies cover pollution claims, most of these policies do not specifically reference global warming. With a number of lower court cases already pending on greenhouse gas emissions, D&Os need management liability insurance that also includes enhanced pollution liability protection, according to Liberty International Underwriters.

The new LIU policy includes many of the coverage enhancements most requested by brokers such as an assured quote for future public offerings and third-party employment practices liability coverage via endorsement.

Designed as a modular policy, brokers can configure Private Advantage’s coverage options into a wide variety of coverage combinations. The policy allows clients to start with a basic D&O policy and then add to it the coverage enhancements that best suit their exposure.

For example, the Combo policy can provide pollution claim protection such as:
— Side A pollution derivative suit coverage;
— Pollution defense costs coverage, inclusive of entity coverage and global warming protection;
— Private placement protection including defense costs coverage for global-warming related misrepresentations; and
— Defense cost coverage associated with formal administrative or regulatory investigative proceedings against insured persons with respect to global warming.

“Executives have grown increasingly concerned about global warming litigation, but until now they had no options for special coverage,” said Carl Pursiano, senior vice president of LIU’s U.S. management liability operations. “We saw this coverage gap and created a policy to help protect executives from this new wave of litigation stemming from the alleged improper release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

Source: Liberty Mutual,
www.liu-usa.com

Topics Lawsuits Pollution Climate Change