Zurich North America Commercial Introduces New Private Company Suite of Comprehensive Management Liability Offerings

Zurich North America Commercial Introduces New Private Company Suite of Comprehensive Management Liability Offerings

Key features include initial public offering quote for qualified companies going public; additional limits for retired independent directors Side A coverage

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zurich North America Commercial today introduced Private Company Select, a suite of four coverages built off Zurich's groundbreaking corporate directors & officers (D&O) policy, including management and company liability, employment practices and third party discrimination liability, fiduciary liability and crime. Zurich's Private Company Select offers the flexibility to respond to one coverage need or to provide a seamless suite of up to four coverages, depending on each organization’s requirements. The product is being marketed to small to midsize organizations that generate in excess of $5 million in annual revenues.

"Research shows leaders of privately held companies often believe their organizations – and themselves – are safe from litigation,” said Seraina Maag, president of Zurich North America Commercial’s Specialties business unit. "They may believe that claims of mismanagement, harassment or breach of duty are things that happen 'somewhere else' or that their status as a privately-held operation somehow exempts them from the issues faced by large, public entities."

"The fact is, these organizations face lawsuits over many of the same issues as any large corporation: financial disclosure, breach of fiduciary duties and employment practices," Vincent Tizzio, president of Zurich Integrated Products said. "Increased scrutiny by the public, the media and government increases the potential vulnerability to litigation and causes an environment where increasing numbers of people seek legal remedy for their grievances. Zurich's Private Company Select reflects today’s needs and responds to the current landscape of risk."

"One of the more feared exposures for private companies is their initial public offering. A feature in Private Company Select which, to our knowledge, no other insurer offers, is Zurich's ability to quote any initial public offering (IPO) by a Private Company Select policyholder," remarked Ty R. Sagalow, chief innovation officer, Zurich North America.

In addition to Private Company Select's ability to offer an IPO quote for any qualified company that decides to go public, other features include an additional coverage for retired independent directors with personal Side A coverage after all other insurance is exhausted. Private Company Select is offered as a duty-to-defend policy or as a non-duty-to-defend policy depending on the customer's annual revenues.

Other key highlights of Zurich Private Company Select include:

• Management and company liability insurance
  • Environmental mismanagement claims extension affords coverage for climate change and global warming disclosure claims and restricts the pollution exclusion so that it does not apply to traditional management liability exposures such as Side A coverage claims;
  • Enhanced definition of claim includes written demand for non-monetary relief and request to toll or waive statute of limitations; civil, criminal, administrative or regulatory investigation of an Insured Person who has received a written notice; extradition requests; regulatory agency demand or subpoena to depose an insured person (solely for Side A); and
  • In addition to the special provisions for retired independent directors and environmental mismanagement claims, enhanced Side A coverage includes non-rescindability and defense costs for certain pre-claim deposition costs of an Insured Person.
• Employment practices and third party discrimination liability insurance
  • Additional insuring clause for third-party discrimination claims;
  • Environmental mismanagement coverage extension for retaliation claims arising out of an environmental event.
• Fiduciary liability insurance
  • Additional insuring clause added for Voluntary Settlement Programs with a maximum limit of liability of $100,000 combined, subject to the Aggregate limit;
  • Definition of claim includes a fact finding investigation by the Department of Labor or Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; and
  • Definition of Loss includes Punitive damages (where insurable by law) and civil penalties pursuant to 502(i) or (l) of ERISA, COBRA or HIPAA.
• Crime insurance
  • Employee theft coverage offers insurance protection for the unlawful taking of money, securities or other property by employees acting alone or in collusion with others; and
  • Electronic data or computer programs restoration protection covers costs to restore or replace damaged or destroyed electronic data or computer programs, stored within the insured's computer system, resulting from a virus or vandalism by a person who has gained unauthorized access.

Tizzio noted, “Once again, by collaborating with our producers, we are now able to offer the market comprehensive options in both the not-for-profit and private company arenas.”

The product was developed in conjunction with Zurich North America Commercial's Proposition Development team.

About Zurich

Zurich's North America Commercial and Global Corporate in North America business divisions are part of Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich), an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries. In North America, Zurich (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors.

This is intended as a general description of certain types of insurance and services available to qualified customers through the companies of Zurich in North America. Your policy is the contract that specifically and fully describes your coverage. The description of the policy provisions gives a broad overview of coverages and does not revise or amend the policy.

Insurance coverages underwritten by individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Zurich American Insurance Company. Because Private Company Select will be offered initially on a surplus lines basis, coverage can be obtained only through a licensed surplus lines broker.

Media contact:

Steve McKay

Zurich

(847) 706-2265

[email protected]

Source: Zurich

Copyright Business Wire 2009 Key features include initial public offering quote for qualified companies going public; additional limits for retired independent directors Side A coverage.