*by lawyer Dr. Johannes Fiala, MBA Financial Services (Univ. Wales), MM (Univ.), banker (IHK), certified financial and investment advisor (A.F.A.), lecturer for civil law and insurance law (Univ. of Cooperative Education)
Manager liability – corporation as an alternative for financial service providers?
For the financial services sector, the signs are pointing to a storm. Experts expect liability lawsuits to increase. A look abroad reveals how many intermediaries and advisors have dropped out of the competition as a result of new legal framework conditions. To protect against liability from business risks, the corporation is certainly one sensible component of several. It is therefore all the more important for the executive bodies (managing directors, supervisory board members, board members) to be aware of managerial liability. The new work “Liability and Insurance of Managers” provides a sound basis for orientation on the scope of duties. Numerous practical tips provide the reader with valuable suggestions on how to reduce the risk of liability – especially “internal liability”.
Works information: Ries/Peiniger: Liability and Insurance of Managers Publisher: Walhalla (January 2007) ISBN-13: 978-3-8029-1546-8
Standards for external liability
The de facto burden of proof on the part of the management suggests that issues involving liability should be documented as carefully as possible. The attentive reader will recognize that it is practically mandatory, especially as an organ of a corporation, to operate a risk management system with personal documentation.
Protection through special insurances
Both the D&O insurance and the manager special legal protection are presented by the authors. Not only the reference to partly serious differences in the insurance conditions is practice-oriented. For example, it is advised to avoid the “knowing breach of duty” exclusion of coverage as much as possible, so that only intentional conduct is excluded from coverage.
Required reading also for the corporate insurance broker
Case law requires insurance brokers to know liability case law and the risks of their clients in the line of business they serve. The new book also includes reference to important aspects in the context of risk identification. The distinction between D&O insurance (organisational, selection and supervisory fault) and pecuniary loss liability insurance (fault in operational activity) is very successful. An overview of different types of insurance concludes the work.
Bottom line:
The work belongs not only in the rule of the company insurance broker. The good structure, a successful graphical presentation, numerous examples and the consideration of current case law facilitate the reading.
(experten.de (08.06.2007))
Courtesy of www.experten.de.