Running an insurance agency has a high margin of risk attached. Mistakes within the agency might lead to harm to others, even unintentionally. If you are the agency leader, then as the public face of the agency, your own security might come under threat in cases of liability lawsuits and related occurrences.
This could involve your personal assets, and your long-term individual security, not just the business’s. If you have a directors & officers liability (D&O liability) insurance policy, then you might have recourse available. Consider how it can help you.
Understanding D&O Policies
When you run an insurance agency, you want things to go smoothly. However, there’s no guarantee that they will. At times, your mistakes might lead to a problem involving clients or other parties. In others, you might become the target of blame, even if you had little to do with the exact mistake. All the same, allegations of misconduct might arise, and the results might become very costly for the involved party.
It is a D&O insurance policy that can help agency leaders, like directors, managers and company owners, in case they face a personal challenge. If you are one of these parties, you might find this coverage important to your personal security.
Consider a situation where a disgruntled client sues the business, because they allege that you sold them a policy that did not provide them with coverage they were legally required to have, and that the policy should have contained. They might blame you for this mistake, because you are the person in charge of the agency.
Allegations like these could lead to a personal challenge.
- You might have to defend yourself in court. The legal costs might run high enough. Lawyer fees and defense costs might mount.
- If settlements also arise, then your personal costs losses might rise even higher.
- Because you are the individual target of a lawsuit, then your personal security might come under threat. That means your livelihood, belongings and your family’s security might also come under threat.
You don’t want to personally suffer, even if these allegations prove groundless. If you did make a business mistake, you want to be able to settle with the other parties in ways that allow you and your agency to move forward.
It is for situations like this that your D&O policy might be able to help you out. Coverage will make sure that an agency principal can move forward from business challenges in ways that are beneficial to agency leaders and the businesses themselves. Keep in mind, you still will likely need other liability policies, like E&O and General liability coverage, for situations like these. However, you will still benefit from the assistance of these policies.