Press Releases

Liberty International Underwriters Creates Private Directors and Officers Insurance Policy That Protects Against Global Warming Litigation

July 30, 2008

NEW YORK - While many Directors and Officers (D&O) policies cover pollution claims, most of these policies do not specifically reference global warming.  To help eliminate much of the uncertainty about global warming exposure, Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a part of Liberty Mutual Group, has created the Private Advantage Company Combo™ policy.  This policy responds to global warming litigation and features many of the D&O coverage enhancements most requested by brokers including assured quote for future public offerings and third-party coverage via endorsement.

LIU's Private Advantage Company Combo™ is a highly competitive private company policy that offers broad private company management coverage for D&O liability, employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability, pollution defense and standard ISO crime fidelity.  It includes a broad definition of EPL wrongful act, claim and insured person as well as a broad definition of claim and loss for fiduciary liability.

"Private company executives have grown increasingly concerned about global warming litigation but until now had no options for special coverage," said Carl Pursiano, senior vice president of LIU's U.S. management liability operations.  "With a number of lower court cases already pending on greenhouse gas emissions, D&Os need global warming defense-cost insurance.  We saw this coverage gap and created a policy to help protect executives from this new wave of litigation stemming from the alleged improper release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."

Since Private Advantage has been designed as a modular policy, brokers can configure its coverage options into a wide variety of combinations.  The policy allows clients to start with a basic D&O policy and then add to it the coverage enhancements that best suit their exposure.  For example, the Combo policy can provide pollution claim protection such as:

• Side A pollution derivative suit coverage;
• Pollution defense-cost coverage, inclusive of entity coverage and global warming protection;
• Private placement protection including defense-cost coverage for global warming-related misrepresentations; and
• Defense-cost coverage associated with formal administrative or regulatory investigative proceedings against insured persons with respect to global warming.

Brokers interested in LIU's Private Advantage Company Combo Policy™ or any of LIU's other management liability products can contact Alton Moore at alton.moore@libertyiu.com or via phone at 415-983-4513.

Part of Liberty Mutual Group's international operations, LIU (www.liu-usa.com) provides specialty commercial lines of insurance worldwide, including casualty, specialty casualty, marine, energy, construction, engineering and reinsurance, distributed exclusively through the independent broker network.

About Liberty Mutual Group
Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2007 direct written premium.  The Company also ranks 94th on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2007 revenue.  As of December 31, 2007, Liberty Mutual Group had $94.7 billion in consolidated assets, $82.3 billion in consolidated liabilities and $25.9 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Group offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, assumed reinsurance, fire and surety.

Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutualgroup.com) employs over 41,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.