Directors and Officers Liability

Directors and Officers of companies face ever-increasing personal liabilities in an increasingly litigious climate.

Factors include:

  • A steady flow of UK and EU regulations, directives and legislation

  • DTI statistics show an increasing number of disqualified Directors and Officers

  • Claims can be brought by an increasing variety of parties - employees, creditors, suppliers, bankers, regulatory authorities, shareholders etc

  • Future liabilities, as yet unknown

Claims brought against Directors and Officers for either real or perceived wrongful acts can put their own and their spouse's personal wealth at risk. Bradstock are acknowledged experts in providing bespoke Directors and Officers insurance. We can arrange superior cover tailored to meet your needs.

Benefits of insurance include:

  • Directors and Officers do not have to finance their own defence

  • Those who implement employment and health and safety procedures are covered personally for discrimination, harassment, safety violations and so on

  • Those who make public statements are covered for libel or slander

  • Covers defence costs of a pollution incident which affects the value of the company

  • Covers expenses for representation at official investigations

  • Actions between officers of the same company are included

  • Cover for outside directorships

Professional Indemnity Insurance

In today's litigious world, providing advice as part of your service to clients puts you at risk. Mistakes can happen and are often followed by allegations of negligence and breach of professional duty.

  • The cost of defending an allegation of wrongful advice is very high

  • If courts make an award, the financial consequences can be disastrous

In the past, Professional Indemnity insurance was regarded as needed only by professions such as Solicitors, Accountants, Surveyors etc.

Today, however, claims for wrongful advice or negligence are not limited to these groups. All who design or provide advice should ensure they have adequate Professional Indemnity insurance.

We have been providing advice to our clients since 1959 and we have a reputation for:

  • innovation

  • service quality

  • and, most importantly, client protection

Our reputation is built on our attention to detail. We anticipate new exposures which our clients may face as a result of:

  • the changing business environment

  • new legislation

  • case law

Professional Indemnity Insurance is a Bradstock speciality. We design cover to meet the needs of our clients, however their liability may arise.


MBO/MBI

In the pressurised lead up to completion of the deal, your clients will rely heavily on you for support in many areas including insurance.

Bradstock offers you the opportunity to provide added value service, while meeting the demands of the financiers for asset protection.

  • Automatic cover on completion for up to 60 days

  • First-class insurers

  • Wide-cover with high limits

  • No proposal form

  • Directors and Officers Liability cover for preparation of the business plan and the prospectus

Insurance Audit

We will report on the vendor’s current insurance arrangements, highlighting any areas of weakness which your clients and the financiers may wish to consider prior to completion of the deal.

Following Completion

Our experienced and expert team, headed by a senior executive, will work closely with your client to provide guidance and will report on the following:

  • Risk identification

  • Risk transfer to a bespoke programme

  • Self-funding

  • Risk management including loss prevention and control

We will provide the most cost-effective insurance and risk management package for your MBO/MBI. Our experience in this field is extensive and our negotiations are always handled in the strictest confidence.

Private Finance Initiatives and Public/Private Partnerships

Bradstock offers project specific insurance packages and services for the PFI/PPP marketplace. Our specialist team serves the professional, public and construction sectors.

Design and Development, Construction and Operations

We provide a range of services for the design and development, construction and operations phases of a project, including:

  • Evaluation of client needs

  • Production of a specific risk transfer matrix

  • Overview of general risk management

  • Professional marketing of insurances

  • Claims and administrative support

  • Health and safety advice

  • Environmental pollution advice

  • Regular reviews

  • Advice on the impact of TUPE

Funding

We also provide consultancy services to both the public and private sectors to assist in due diligence for funding a project.

Planning and Procurement

For the Planning and Procurement phases of a project, we provide the following due diligence services:
  • Guidance on risk matrix

  • Review the finance and projects agreement and assist in drafting insurance clauses to protect the procuring organisation’s position

  • Define the responsibilities under the project agreements and credit agreements to identify the risk and insurance implications for the organisation across the project as a whole

  • Review the security of any proposed insurers

  • Support and advise the organisation on all aspects of risk and insurance


Credit Insurance

Comprehensive protection for creditors

If a business fails, the implications for its creditors can often be equally catastrophic. All the indications are that business failures are on the increase which in turn means that the risks to creditors are becoming that much greater. Now, more than ever, is the time for companies to protect themselves through credit insurance.

The risks are higher, but protection is at hand From volatile currencies to the Asian crisis; from the millennium bug to the launch of the Euro. Never before have there been so many factors with the potential to adversely affect trading conditions.

In recent times failures of major companies and overseas markets have, in turn, had an inevitable domino effect on smaller companies further down the business chain. With profit margins being squeezed, even a relatively small bad debt requires ten or even 20 times as much increased business to make up for the loss. Without credit insurance, many companies would find it hard to survive.

Credit Insurance:

  • Protects companies by reimbursing losses incurred when debtors fail in their payment obligations, usually through insolvency or bankruptcy

  • Guards against the unexpected by protecting a company's debtor asset, either by providing insurance cover for a company's total business or for a specific customer or group of customers

  • Gives exporters additional protection against political or economic situations which delay or prevent payments from overseas

  • Allows companies to enter new projects or business ventures more confidently.

  • Can facilitate business finance