Charles O’Connor Sr. VP & Manager for Commercial Market Liability Claims Liberty Mutual Insurance

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 01, 2011 - Registration for the Bad Faith Mini Conference is now open at www.litmgmt.org/bf2011.
The Bad Faith Mini-Conference is an important and advanced half-day conference for industry, claim and legal professionals in the critical areas of insurance bad faith and coverage.  Expert industry panelists and moderators will lead three interactive and dynamic roundtables focused on avoiding bad faith claims in the adjustment process, strategic decisions by carrier and counsel after suit is filed, and tactics and objectives for success at trial.  The conference also includes breakfast remarks by Charles O’Connor, Senior Vice President and Manager of Commercial Market Liability Claims for Liberty Mutual Group.

Charlie O’Connor is Senior Vice President & Manager, Commercial Market Liability Claims, for the Liberty Mutual Group. As such, Charlie has overall responsibility for defining and delivering Liberty’s Commercial Market claim services countrywide for auto and general liability customers.
Previously, Charlie was the Vice President  & Manager of Middle Market Liability Claims and Assistant Vice President and Manager, Liability Claims, in the Liberty Mutual Group’s Examining Unit in Dover, NH. There he was responsible for oversight, management and evaluation of Liberty Mutual’s highest exposure liability claims for commercial market business.
Prior to these positions, Mr. O’Connor served in various legal and claims management positions including trial counsel & attorney of record in an active Long Island, New York practice. Charlie was also instrumental in the development of litigation management efforts for the Liberty Mutual Group.
Mr. O’Connor obtained his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar, the American Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute.

About the Council on Litigation Management
The Council is a nonpartisan alliance of thousands of insurance companies, corporations, general counsel, risk managers, claims adjusters and attorneys. Through education and collaboration, its goals are to create a common interest in the representation by firms of companies, and to promote and further the highest standards of litigation management in pursuit of client defense. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.litmgmt.org
Contact: Adam Potter, Executive Director
Council on Litigation Management
212-724-2345

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Professional Liability Insurance Resources Featured Firm

Hall & Company is proud to announce their featured firm of the month for our AE Resources page, C. W. Felice, LLC.
PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 22, 2011 – The cornerstone of  C. W. Felice, LLC ( http://www.cwfelicellc.com) service is the combination of leadership and technical expertise that allows them to anticipate, understand, and meet business demands with practical solutions. Their expertise in engineering, management, and planning processes enables them to create innovative market-based strategies to expand service opportunities and improve effectiveness of business development activities.  
On Tuesday, August 9, 2011, Dr. Felice who is the Managing Principal of C. W. Felice, LLC and Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida will be presenting the webinar regarding  Underground Construction Claims: Avoidance, Mitigation, and Management ( https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/460066814). Dr. Felice has more than 24 years of experience in delivering project and program management, construction engineering analysis and design, and construction claim avoidance and resolution services on multi-disciplinary above- and below-ground engineering projects. Dr. Felice has been recognized by invitations to the U. S. National Academy of Engineering, Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, appointments to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering and as a member of the Committee on Underground Engineering for Sustainable Development.
Hall & Company is excited to be working in conjunction with C. W. Felice, LLC on their upcoming webinar regarding Underground Construction Claims this August. For more information about C. W. Felice, LLC and other Risk Management/Loss Prevention resources exclusively for the design industry, please visit http://www.hallandcompany.com/resources.php
# # # Serving more than 3,500 design firms nationally, Hall & Company is a recognized leader in providing insurance solutions for design professionals. Further information is available at our website http://www.hallandcompany.com/.
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Popularity of Directors & Officers Liability Insurance Growing Among Private Businesses

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 14, 2011 – Directors and Officers Liability insurance increasingly is becoming a necessary part of businesses’ and nonprofit organizations’ arsenal in their attempt to defend themselves against the threat of litigation in the course of carrying out their official duties, according to Jeffrey W. Cavignac, CPCU, ARM, RPLU, CRIS, president of leading San Diego risk management firm Cavignac & Associates (www.cavignac.com).

   Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability insurance covers a company’s directors, its officers and usually the company itself for liability arising out of the management of the corporation.  These policies also cover the defense of a covered lawsuit.  

   “Generally lawsuits against directors and officers will allege negligence or breach of duty in the performance of the directors’ or the officers’ responsibilities on behalf of the company,” said Cavignac.  “While this is considered mandatory coverage for a publicly held or non-profit entity, it is also becoming more popular for privately held companies for the simple reason that the cost is reasonable, the coverage is fairly broad, and lawsuits typically covered by a D&O policy have been increasing.”  

   Public companies’ largest exposure, explained Cavignac, arises out of securities class action suits.  These suits typically allege things like failure to disclose or accurately disclose certain relevant facts.  Other types of suits include allegations that there was breach of fiduciary duty, or breach of contract.  

   In addition, both private and public companies face lawsuits from other sources as well:

•   Employees may allege wrongful termination, discrimination or harassment.  These claims are generally covered by an Employment Practices Liability policy.

•   Clients and customers may claim breach of contract, failure to deliver services, poor product performance or misleading statements or business practices.

•   Competitors may allege unfair trade practices, interfering with a contractual relationship, antitrust violations or intellectual property infringement.

•   Fellow directors, minority shareholders and debt holders may claim breach of fiduciary duty, mismanagement or acting against the best interest of the company.

Non-profits organizations, said Cavignac, have a unique set of potential claimants, including:

•   Donors and beneficiaries who can claim misuse of donated funds or misrepresentation.

•   Third parties like suppliers or providers and even other non-profit entities may allege interference with a contractual relationship, infringement or breach of contract.

•   Government regulators could claim misappropriation of funds or violation of laws.

•   Volunteers may claim discrimination or harassment.

   D&O Liability insurance provides coverage to the individual directors and officers (Side A), the company for its obligation to indemnify the directors and officers (Side B), and the company itself if it is sued (Side C; Entity Coverage). The policy also covers the legal expenses associated with the defense of a covered suit.  

   Nowadays, a relatively new coverage is also being offered, said Cavignac, called Side A Excess coverage.  It provides additional protection to directors and officers when recoveries under the traditional D&O programs are unavailable because of company bankruptcy, when the company is prohibited by law from indemnifying its directors and officers, if the event is excluded under the standard policy, or if the limits under the primary policy have been exhausted.  

   While the coverage under a D&O policy is fairly broad, there are exclusions.  Generally, exclusions are included because the circumstance would be covered under a different insurance policy, or it is considered against public policy.  While all policies differ, common exclusions include liability arising out of bodily injury or property damage, employee dishonesty, ERISA violations, fraud, pollution and professional services.  There are also insured versus insured exclusions, which need to be evaluated.  Directors, according to Cavignac, should also be aware that courts occasionally rule that directors are personally liable for their conduct and are not to be indemnified by the company or its D&O insurers.

   D&O Liability policies are written on a "claims made and reported" basis and only cover claims made when the policy is in force.  If a company shuts down, or is acquired, there are generally options to extend the reporting -1241067585  period into the future.  These policies also have a retroactive date.  This is the date before which actions would not be covered regardless of when the claim is brought.  

   Defense costs are included in the limit of coverage and will reduce amounts available to pay a judgment or settlement.  These need to be taken into consideration when deciding on a limit.  Although there are no hard and fast rules on what limit is appropriate, a general rule of thumb for a mid-sized public company is to purchase a limit equal to no less than 5% of the company's market capitalization.  For privately held companies, a minimum might be limits equal to no less that 10-20% of a company’s net worth, but no less than $1,000,000.  

   “Directors and Officers Liability policies are complex,” said Cavignac. “It is recommended that businesses and non profit organizations deal with a D&O specialist broker and to have their corporate counsel review the proposed coverage as well.”

About Cavignac & Associates:

Founded in 1992, Cavignac & Associates is a leading risk management and commercial insurance brokerage firm providing a broad range of insurance and expertise to design and construction firms, as well as to law firms, real estate-related entities, manufacturing companies and the general business community. Company principals are Jeffrey W. Cavignac, CPCU, ARM, RPLU, CRIS, James P. Schabarum II, CPCU, AFSB, CWCA, Scott A. Bedingfield, CIC, AAI, CWCA, and Patrick Casinelli, RHU. The firm employs a staff of 38 at offices located at 450 B Street, Suite 1800, San Diego, Calif. 92101. More information about the company can be found on the Web at www.cavignac.com.

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