Directors Liability Insurance, Directors And Officers Insurance

Defend your governance record

The concept of the corporate veil is long gone – individual company representatives are as much litigation targets as corporate entities themselves. Intensifying public expectations and regulatory surveillance now put responsibility for corporate governance squarely on the shoulders of individual directors and officers.

If you are an executive, manager, director or officer of a public or private company, you must be able to stand up in court and defend your record against a whole matrix of statutory duties. There is a multitude of statutes which directly touch upon your individual responsibilities - from Corporations, Trade Practices, Tax & duties acts to Occupational Health & Safety, Employment, Superannuation, and Workers Compensation legislation.

Nor can you avoid being unfairly scrutinised in the performance of your duties - you can even incur personal liability from the activities of fellow directors. The scrutiny you attract may not always be fair, or reflective of your own personal integrity and honesty, and it may come from any number of sources:

• Employees in relation to discrimination, harassment, breach of employment contract, defamation, misleading misrepresentation and wrongful discipline
• Creditors in relation to financial reporting or financial risk management, including allegations that a director allowed the company to trade whilst knowing it could not pay its debts
• State & Federal government agencies in relation to breaches of the multitude of statutes for which directors and officers can be held personally liable
• Competitors bringing Trade Practices Act claims against directors for misleading and deceptive conduct
• Shareholders alleging that directors mismanaged the operations of the company and its funds.

Who exactly is protected & how?

For a director or officer, this insurance protects your personal assets and reputation if you are embroiled in allegations that reflect upon your past, present and future capacity as a director or officer. It covers you personally for legal action taken against you for wrongful acts, insolvent trading, breaches of OH&S legislation or Corporations Law, misuse of confidential or copyrighted information and more.

For a public or private company, directors and officers insurance is an important safeguard for your corporate reputation, precious cash reserves and bottom line, particularly if your constitution indemnifies your directors and officers.

Your corporate & professional risk partners

Insurance House is familiar with every insurer offering directors’ liability insurance. We use our market knowledge and contacts to enhance your level of coverage for the widest range of exposures to your board and management. More than just a broker, we act as your corporate and professional risk partners and maintain a vigilant insurance program for every exposure you wish to cover.

What’s more, if you take out directors and officers insurance with Insurance House you will automatically register for our free support service, IH Business Assist. This includes:

• Service guarantee including a dedicated Account Manager and Support Team
• Financial analysis services
• Formal review processes for a range of business and professional risks
• A range of other support services including claims analysis and consulting, valuations, access to our online knowledge bank and subscription to our quarterly newsletter.

Few Australian insurance providers deliver such a broad and all-encompassing service to their clients. So give yourself or your board and management full assurance that you have the best liability cover in the marketplace for your needs.