Lloyd’s syndicate launches director defence costs product

Lloyd’s syndicate Navigators has launched the “first ever” directors and officers’ product to protect corporate directors specifically for defence costs, Lloyd’s reported.
A recent judgement in Australia’s High Court against directors of Bridgecorp, a company that went bankrupt in 2007, sparked the idea for the coverage.
The company owed $500 million to creditors. It successfully argued it had priority to claim the $20 million under its D&O policy, leaving the company’s directors without cover for their criminal defence costs.
The NavDefence policy offers dedicated defence costs coverage for directors where a charge has been placed on the main D&O policy. Navigators currently writes a Cdn$39- million limit to cover a company’s board of directors.
Currently the product is only available in New Zealand and Australia. But it may be rolled out elsewhere if the law in other jurisdictions makes directors vulnerable, Lloyd’s reported.