ACE UK Launches ‘Elite’ to Protect Directors & Officers Assets

ACE UK announced that it has launched “ACE Elite,” which it described as a “portfolio of liability products designed to provide more relevant and appropriate protection in addressing the increased exposure of individuals and their personal assets.”

The bulletin indicated that the “ACE Elite Directors & Officers (D&O) responds to the constantly evolving needs of the individual directors and officers at a time when these individuals are facing increased exposures arising from their duties being codified in the Companies Act 2006.” The legislation imposes “environmental duties. ACE said its Elite program would “provide directors with full limit cover for any non-indemnifiable pollution, bodily injury or property damage claims.”

Commenting on the launch, Dan Holloway, ACE’s UK D&O Product Manager explained: “D&O was originally developed to provide protection for the personal assets of individual directors and officers. Developments in the market have effectively diluted the emphasis of such protection, which we believe sometimes exposes individuals to unnecessary risks. The need for this kind of protection has not diminished for directors and officers, in fact, recent changes to the Companies Act have increased the exposure of individuals making it even more vital that this remains the key focus.”

The coverage also addresses “the potential exposures of pension fund trustees. “The Pension Act 2004 has already created a heightened risk that trustees may breach the increasingly complex responsibilities they face and consequently find their personal assets at risk,” ACE noted. “Some markets have removed forward cover for trustees where the sponsoring employer merges or is acquired or where the fund goes into run-off. The additional exposures this creates place an unacceptable burden on trustees.”

Emma Watkins, Pension Trustee Liability (PTL) specialist and Product Manager at ACE commented: “PTL insurance offers wide cover for the individual, sponsoring employer and the pension scheme itself. However, there is a risk that when insurers focus on providing cover for the company this can divert protection away from the individual, therefore exposing trustees to unnecessary risk. ACE Elite PTL adopts a more direct approach and backed up by our robust underwriting and pricing strategy, we aim to redress the balance for trustees.”

ACE will be targeting growth from the ACE Elite portfolio in the UK regional broker market using ACE Online which, the Company said, “has already proved successful amongst brokers with the launch of a D&O cover earlier this year. ACE Elite will include new policy wordings for D&O and PTL cover. New products including Initial Public Offering (IPO) and Charities are planned for launch in 2008.”

Source: ACE – www.acelimited.com