Beazley Group, a specialist insurance company, has launched Beazley Armour, a Side A policy form designed to provide indemnification to directors and officers.
Side A directors and officers policies protect directors and officers in cases where indemnification by the company is not available. They have grown in
popularity in recent years, following the corporate scandals early in the decade and in tandem with the more recent growth of derivative lawsuits.
Derivative suits are those brought by shareholders on behalf of a company
against its directors and officers, alleging breach of fiduciary duties.
Beazley Armour has been designed to provide optimal protection for directors and officers. When written on an excess basis, the product incorporates a difference in conditions provision.
Other benefits include: available policy limit of up to $15 million; Automatic reinstatement of policy limit for independent directors; full severability with respect to application and exclusions and no insured versus insured exclusion.
Neal Wilkinson, team lead of management liability at Beazley, said: Corporations large and small are increasingly recognizing the irreplaceable role that robust Side A coverage plays in attracting and retaining high quality executive and non-executive directors. Our coverage has been designed to maximize the value and convenience of this protection.