Markel (UK), the retail division of Markel International has introduced a Management Risks ‘combined’ wording to protect the directors of UK private companies against directors’ & officers’ (D&O) liabilities and provide employment law protection in one policy.
Commenting on the current situation in this market, Steve Carroll, managing director of Markel (UK) said:
“Importing policy terms and conditions from wordings that were designed to protect large PLC’s or multi-nationals may have serious consequences for clients in this sector, particularly when genuine areas of claims activity are excluded.”
“Imposing allocation conditions and excluding the vast majority of major shareholder claims under a Private Company D&O cover potentially renders much of the protection afforded useless, particularly when you bear in mind that just about everyone sat around the boardroom table will be a major shareholder. Similarly, an Employment section that incorporates a TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings) exclusion or a Prospects of Success condition severely limits the chances of a client making a successful claim under the policy.”
“We’ve focused our efforts on this sector for many years now and so we owe a duty to our clients to provide leading-edge protection."
Markel’s new offeringhas the scope to incorporate an Entity Defence Insuring Clause alongside D&O and Employment Law Protection.
The new policy also includes a range of additional services such as PR Crisis Management, Employer Assistance and Criminal Background Screening service.
