Policy Drafting Assistance and Underwriting
The least expensive coverage dispute is the one that never arises. Policy wording is negotiable far more often than many policyholders assume, and the time to negotiate it is before the policy is bound, not after a claim is denied.
Marc Mayerson brings nearly forty years of coverage litigation to the review of proposed policies. Having seen how insurers read exclusions, definitions, and conditions once a claim arrives, he can identify gaps and traps in the wording. He then suggests language that narrows them or makes sure they are understood and planned for.
We regularly advise boards of directors, fiduciaries, risk managers, and in-house counsel, working with the client's insurance broker rather than in place of the broker. Our work includes:
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reviewing D&O, fiduciary liability, professional liability, crime and fidelity, cyber, and general-liability wordings before purchase or renewal;
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drafting and negotiating manuscript endorsements;
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advising newly appointed directors on corporate indemnification and insurance protection;
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protecting directors in corporate acquisitions and divestitures, including run-off coverage for departing board members, and in transitions such as initial public offerings;
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identifying how prior-acts, prior-and-pending litigation, related-claims, and insured-versus-insured provisions may operate when a claim arises; and
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checking renewal policies for reductions in coverage the insurer did not clearly disclose.
For trade associations, labor unions, nonprofits, and charities, we review proposed programs so that they fit the organization's actual activities and the exposures of its leaders, including officers’ and employed-lawyers’ coverage.
Policy review is often the highest-value work we do. A sentence clarified at underwriting can avoid years of coverage litigation.
Related reading: What You See Is Not What You Get: Renewal Policies; When ERISA Suits Tagalong to D&O Claims the Fiduciary-Liability Coverage Might Not