Commercial Lines

Investors got a chance this week to weigh in on the government's odds of recouping the full $182 billion bailout of American International Group Inc. The response so far: Don't count on it.

Agent associations are criticizing what they say are federal efforts to strip away crop-insurance servicing components from their members.

It’s still a buyer’s market for insurance on upstream and downstream energy risks, according to a Marsh report. However, uncertainty has developed as reinsurers take heavy losses and natural and man-made catastrophes take their toll.

In today’s lending environment, nearly all small and midsize business owners sign a personal guarantee to secure bank financing. This uncomfortable reality—putting a house and other personal assets at risk—can now be mitigated with a new insurance product: personal guarantee insurance.

New rules that expose executives and directors of troubled financial-services institutions to unexpected negative consequences—including the possible loss of their salaries and other compensation—have sparked the creation a new insurance coverage.

Unlike last year’s flood of “pre-claim inquiry” offerings that focused on coverage for the investigation-response costs of individual executives and directors, Chartis’ new “Investigation Edge” offering, a standalone policy introduced in March, addresses corporate costs, including the massive expenses associated with producing documents required by the Securities & Exchange Commission.

With new coverages evolving and the SEC setting its sights on increased enforcement activities, specialty insurance coverage for regulatory investigations is a hot topic among buyers and sellers of management liability insurance. Brokers assess the options and price trends.

For public companies navigating the continuing fallout from the global financial meltdown, dealing with regulatory investigations is about as inevitable as death and taxes. D&O insurance products are evolving to cover some of the costs.