Directors and Officers Liability Insurance in Present Corporate Scenario

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Directors and Officers Liability Insurance in Present Corporate Scenario

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance is quite a new concept in the Indian Corporate Scenario. It is often termed D&O Liability Insurance and is a liability insurance policy. The policy pays in the form of reimbursement of compensation against any losses of defense expenses in any such events where an insured suffers a loss as a consequence of a legal action brought for any wrongful acts in their aptitude as directors and officers. Now that we got a glimpse of what this is all about, let us get to know D&O Liability Insurance in the present corporate scenario in detail. 

Table of Content

What is a Directors and Officers Liability Insurance?

Directors and Officers Liability insurance is designed so that the directors and officers could get monetary protection from a company in such scenarios where a lawsuit is filed against them. The policy offers protection in circumstances when certain claims are filed against the directors, officers, and employees for alleged or actual breach of duty, wrongful actions, neglect, and many more such in their capacity. The Directors and Officers Liability Insurance in the present corporate scenario helps your organization to get into a safe zone against any claims alleging financial losses arising due to the misconduct of the organization. The coverage that the directors and officers get under the liability insurance extends to some areas like:-

  • Coverage for all the individual directors and officers.
  • Reimbursement coverage for a contractual obligation to indemnify directors and officers that would be present on the board.
  • Protection for the organization.

Why should one get a Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Policy?

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Policy has a lot of major significance since employees, stakeholders, and clients can raise claims against the directors or the company at any time out of the blue. As things might go down suddenly for the directors & officers and they can be held liable for any wrongful acts in the discharge of their accountabilities as the directors of the company, it is always wise to safeguard themselves to escape such circumstances and avoid putting personal assets in risks.

What are the benefits as well as the salient features of Directors and Officers Liability Insurance in the present corporate scenario?

Directors and officers liability insurance safeguard the personal assets of directors and officers in scenarios where they are personally sued by employees, investors, competitors, vendors, customers, and so on for either alleged or actual unlawful acts in managing a company. D&O Insurance has a plethora of benefits to offer to the directors and officers of a company like:-

  • Reimbursement of Legal Expenses: If and when a D&O is filed, the insurance policy can provide a wide range of coverage for any legal expenses against a variety of claims. The Directors and Officers Liability Insurance can provide financial compensation, especially to the leaders or private companies, protecting them from false allegations. The lawsuits can surprise the directors at any point in time, so private company leaders need to arm themselves with the appropriate D&O Policy.
  •  Protection from Civil Fines, Tax Liabilities, and Penalties: If at all a firm goes bankrupt and the Director is held liable legally for the unpaid corporate taxes, then it can be covered under the D&O liability insurance policy. Directors and Officers Liability insurance can also cover the penalties and all the civil fines levied by the court of law of any statutory authority.
  • Financial Support: Financial support or backing is offered to the directors and officers by the D&O Policy for a standard indemnification provision that allows the officers and directors to be in a risk-free zone against any losses. The insurance protects the company as well as covers all sorts of settlements, legal fees, and other expenses. This might be one of the strongest reasons why the directors and officers would like to go for a company that provides both indemnification and a D&O insurance policy.
  • Director’s Personal Liability is covered: Most of the time the Directors and Chief Officers of a company are personally held liable for acts where they breach their authority as per the Companies Act 2013. In such circumstances, the assets of the directors and officers can get impounded or can get arrested even. The Directors and Officers Liability Insurance helps the directors and officers in getting protection against such claims.
  • Worldwide Coverage is offered: If the company operates at some foreign locations, then the D&O insurance policy provides worldwide coverage for both jurisdiction and territory. Therefore, Directors and Officers Liability Insurance could offer protection against the claims arising out of suppliers, shareholders, clients from all over the world, and so on.
  • Lawsuits from Employees: Employees could bring complaints against the company for acts like sexual harassment, biased termination, and so on. An extension namely Employment Practices Liability Insurance is carried forward by the directors and officers insurance to protect themselves from such lawsuits.
  • Full Defense Expenses: The Director Liability Insurance Policy can handle the fees of the lawyers to defend a case in court. Along with that, the add-on covers could reimburse the costs to act in response to an investigation by authorities, regulatory notice, and so on to reduce losses.

Who all are protected under the Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Policy?

The Directors and Officers Liability Insurance covers the following under the policy:-

  • Directors and Officers of the company.
  • Directors and Officers of the subsidiary company.
  • Independent Directors.
  • An employee of the company who is in a role of managerial or supervisory capacity.
  • An employee of the company who is in the role of risk manager.
  • Secretaries of the Company
  • An employee of a company who is not a director or officer but a lawyer.

What is kept aside under a D&O policy?

Just like all insurance policies, D&O Insurance Policy certainly has some exclusions. This means that the D&O insurance policy won’t offer any coverage under certain circumstances and would keep it aside. The general exclusions as per the Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Policy are as follows:-

  • Personal Profits
  • Fraud
  • Damage to properties
  • Bodily Injuries
  • Pending Litigation
  • Pollution
  • Illegal Compensations

Appoint a Director in any CompanyConclusion

Thus, that was all about Directors and Officers Liability Insurance in the Present Corporate Scenario. It gets essential to understand the importance and requirement of safeguarding oneself with such kind of insurance, especially in the current corporate scenario. We as individuals have to step up and ensure our safety. If we are taking our life insurance so seriously then we should also take D&O Insurance Policy with that amount of seriousness. 

 

CS Urvashi Jain is an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Her expertise, inter-alia, is in regulatory approvals, licenses, registrations for any organization set up in India. She posse’s good exposure to compliance management system, legal due diligence, drafting and vetting of various legal agreements. She has good command in drafting manuals, blogs, guides, interpretations and providing opinions on the different core areas of companies act, intellectual properties and taxation.

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