Unique eDiscovery endorsement offering states eDiscovery costs are part of otherwise-covered Defense Costs and provides additional separate limits with no retention plus, no additional cost readiness assessments and preferred rates
Schaumburg, Ill., November 19, 2009 – Zurich North America Commercial announced today that its Specialties business unit is introducing a series of unique policy enhancements to help customers fund the cost and manage the risk of eDiscovery. The enhancements initially are available to qualified customers of Zurich’s groundbreaking D&O Select™ policy.
The eDiscovery enhancement helps enable customers to reduce litigation costs by providing additional coverage for eDiscovery costs. Qualified customers are able to develop and stress test their eDiscovery readiness, and potentially reduce out-of–pocket final discovery costs (preserving policy limits), control expenses and mitigate liability.
“The quantity of electronically stored information has increased dramatically over the past 10 years," said Will Fahey, senior vice president of Zurich North America Commercial’s Specialties Management Solutions Group. "Because of this drastic increase, a growing percentage of legal fees paid under D&O policies are related to eDiscovery costs. The eDiscovery enhancement to our corporate D&O policy addresses that problem and clarifies that ‘E-Discovery Defense Costs’ are part of ‘Defense Costs’ for covered Claims."
“In addition, as part of this unique offering, we are pleased to work with ACT Litigation Services (ACT),” said Ty R. Sagalow, executive vice president and chief innovation officer for Zurich North America Commercial. Established in 1984, ACT is a leading provider of electronic discovery, document review and litigation management consulting.
Sagalow added that for those qualified policyholders wishing to take advantage of the services, the endorsement provides the following additional benefits:
• A separate additional limit of liability of up to $100,000 with no retention for qualified "E-Discovery Defense Costs" incurred by the insured in connection with an SEC Informal Investigation, civil or criminal proceeding.
• Up to two hours of eDiscovery readiness consulting services at no additional cost.
• eDiscovery “fire drill” for qualified policyholders, which includes consulting and project management on a hypothetical matter to stress-test existing response policies and procedures.
In addition, ACT will provide a 23 percent discount for the first $130,000 of traditional eDiscovery services and provide qualified customers with preferred rates thereafter. This offering also includes comprehensive reports and metrics for qualified customers throughout the project.
In April, Zurich introduced D&O Select, a corporate D&O policy that offers new levels of insurance coverage to respond to today’s risk environment. Contained in the policy are the following market leading innovations:
• Retired Independent Directors Side A coverage for an additional level of coverage for retired independent directors with personal Side A coverage after all other insurance coverage is exhausted.
• Environmental Mismanagement Claims extension for traditional management liability exposures, such as securities claims, disclosure claims arising from climate change or global warming, retaliation claims against insured persons and Side A coverage claims of any nature.
• Enhanced Definition of Claim provides, in addition to the expanded coverage for Securities Claims, insurance for shareholder derivative demands, investigations (sublimited) and coverage for Wells notices and Target Letters as Claims.
• Enhanced Side A Coverage includes, in addition to the special provisions for Retired Independent Directors and Environmental Mismanagement Claims, non-rescindability and defense costs for certain pre-claim deposition costs of any Insured Person (such as a grand jury).
• Extended Reporting Period (ERP) allows any individual Insured Persons to elect this option at customized rates, if the policyholder declines to purchase the ERP.
In addition to these innovative features, Zurich D&O Select offers more than 75 enhancements from the previous policy form.
About Zurich
Zurich's North America Commercial and Global Corporate in North America business divisions are part of Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich), an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries. In North America, Zurich (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the global corporate, large corporate, middle market, specialties and programs sectors.
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Media contact:
Steve McKay
Zurich
(847) 706-2265
steven.mckay@zurichna.com
