Businesses, their boards and leadership teams face significant legal and financial risks inherent in today's business environment. We provide tailored Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance to protect directors, officers and senior leaders.
D&O insurance is designed to protect private and public companies’ balance sheets, as well as their individual directors, officers and senior leaders, from financial loss associated with alleged wrongful acts related to discharging their duties. This can include acts of negligence and mismanagement to insider trading and fiduciary breaches.
Allegations of mismanagement, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or other wrongful acts.
Lawsuits related to securities regulations, such as misrepresentation or insider trading, as well as breaches of fiduciary duty to shareholders.
Claims against Directors and Officers involving discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, or other employment-related issues.
When selecting D&O insurance for your business, there are 3 different insuring clauses to consider: Side A, B and C. Which is required will depend on the unique circumstances of your decision makers and the structure of the business.
Side A is the core coverage of a D&O policy. It protects directors and officers from unlimited personal liability from claims made against them for wrongful acts, even when the company is unable or unwilling (e.g. insolvent) to indemnify them.
Side B coverage reimburses the company for amounts it pays to indemnify its directors and officers for claims made against them. The Australian Corporations Act sets out when a company should indemnify a director or officer, or there may be a special agreement in place between the individual and the company (Deed of Indemnity).
Side C coverage is often referred to as ‘entity coverage’ and typically suited for Australian publicly-listed companies. Side C coverage protects companies from securities claims which are usually brought in the form of a class action, such as breaches of stock exchange disclosure obligations.
