The judges of the Third Circuit affirmed a decision that an insurer was not obligated to contribute to the defense of an insured based on an exclusion for financial professional services. The case is called Republic Franklin Ins. Co. v. Travelers Cas. Ins. Co. of Am., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 32074 (3rd Cir. 2023). 

Borden-Perlman Insurance Agency (B-P) hired an ex-employee of Orchestrate H.R., one of B-P's competitors. After he was hired at B-P, the employee allegedly misused Orchestrate's confidential information to entice current and potential clients away from his former employer. In doing so, he made several false and misleading statements about the company. Orchestrate sued B-P for defamation. 

Republic Franklin had issued an E&O policy to B-P, which insured B-P's provision of professional services and included "providing insurance program and risk management services and advice." B-P had purchased a CGL policy from Travelers that provided coverage for suits seeking personal injury damages, which included defamation. However, the Travelers policy contained an exclusion explicitly precluding coverage for claims resulting from B-P's provision of or failure to provide financial professional services to others.