A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_URI::$config is deprecated

Filename: core/URI.php

Line Number: 101

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Router::$uri is deprecated

Filename: core/Router.php

Line Number: 127

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$benchmark is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$hooks is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$config is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$log is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$utf8 is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$uri is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$exceptions is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$router is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$output is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$security is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$input is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$lang is deprecated

Filename: core/Controller.php

Line Number: 82

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Return type of CI_Session_files_driver::open($save_path, $name) should either be compatible with SessionHandlerInterface::open(string $path, string $name): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 132

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Return type of CI_Session_files_driver::close() should either be compatible with SessionHandlerInterface::close(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 294

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Return type of CI_Session_files_driver::read($session_id) should either be compatible with SessionHandlerInterface::read(string $id): string|false, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 168

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Return type of CI_Session_files_driver::write($session_id, $session_data) should either be compatible with SessionHandlerInterface::write(string $id, string $data): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 237

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Return type of CI_Session_files_driver::destroy($session_id) should either be compatible with SessionHandlerInterface::destroy(string $id): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 317

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Return type of CI_Session_files_driver::gc($maxlifetime) should either be compatible with SessionHandlerInterface::gc(int $max_lifetime): int|false, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice

Filename: drivers/Session_files_driver.php

Line Number: 358

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 282

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_set_cookie_params(): Session cookie parameters cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 289

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 304

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 314

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 315

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 316

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 317

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: ini_set(): Session ini settings cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 375

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_set_save_handler(): Session save handler cannot be changed after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 110

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Warning

Message: session_start(): Session cannot be started after headers have already been sent

Filename: Session/Session.php

Line Number: 143

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$session is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 1283

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$email is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 1283

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$pdf is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 1283

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 7
Function: __construct

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$db is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 396

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 8
Function: database

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_DB_mysqli_driver::$failover is deprecated

Filename: database/DB_driver.php

Line Number: 371

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 8
Function: database

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$form_validation is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 1283

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 9
Function: library

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$adminmodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 358

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 10
Function: model

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$leadmodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 358

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 12
Function: model

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$clientmodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 358

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 13
Function: model

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$pagination is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 1283

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/models/Pagemodel.php
Line: 7
Function: library

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 14
Function: model

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property Home::$pagemodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 358

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 14
Function: model

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$load is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$benchmark is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$hooks is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$config is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$log is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$utf8 is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$uri is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$exceptions is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$router is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$output is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$security is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$input is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$lang is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$session is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$email is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$pdf is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$db is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$form_validation is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$adminmodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$leadmodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$clientmodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$pagination is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: 8192

Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$pagemodel is deprecated

Filename: core/Loader.php

Line Number: 931

Backtrace:

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/application/controllers/Home.php
Line: 254
Function: view

File: /home/agentsof/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once

Avoiding Traps That May Eliminate D&O Coverage for Innocent Policyholders

Avoiding Traps That May Eliminate D&O Coverage for Innocent Policyholders

By Alexander D. Hardiman. Esq. of Anderson Kill P.C.

A recent court ruling serves as a reminder that the smallest of words — an, the, any or such — may determine whether a D&O policy exclusion applies to a policyholder’s claim. In TranSched Sys. Ltd. v. Fed. Ins. Co., CA 12-939-M, 2013 WL 3974134 (D.R.I. Aug. 2), the court considered whether a jury verdict of intentional misrepresentation triggered a D&O policy’s fraud exclusion. The policy excluded coverage “based upon, arising from, or in consequence of any deliberately fraudulent act or omission or any willful violation of any statute or regulation by such Insured . . . .” The court focused in part on the specific language that excluded coverage for the enumerated acts by “such Insured.” The court concluded that the modifier “such” limited the application of the exclusion to the specific insured who was subject to the jury verdict, and therefore the triggering of the exclusion would not preclude coverage for other insureds.

 

The TranSched case provides yet another example of the difference that seemingly minor changes in D&O policy language can have on coverage, particularly in the case of the application of so-called “bad acts” exclusions (generally for fraud, criminal acts or illegal profit). Thus, whether the bad acts of one insured operate to preclude coverage for other innocent insureds may turn on whether the insured, an insured or any insured first triggered the bad acts exclusion. See e.g. Chacon v. American Family Mut. Ins., 788 P.2d 748, 751 (CO 1990) (holding that “unlike the phrase ‘the insured,’ the phrase ‘any insured’ unambiguously expresses a contractual intent to create joint obligations and to prohibit recovery by an innocent co-insured.”); Michael Carbone, Inc., v. General Accident Ins. Co., 937 F.Supp. 413, 419 (E.D.Pa. 1996) (holding that “the punchline is this: the term ‘the insured’ means, and means only, the person claiming coverage, or [to put it another way] only the person coverage for whom is the issue.”); Medill v. Westport Ins. Corp., 49 Cal.Rptr.3d 570, 580 (Cal. 2nd Dist. Ct. App. 2006) (California cases have determined that the phrases “any insured” or “an insured” unambiguously preclude coverage to all persons covered by the policy if any one of them engages in excludable conduct.).

 

The existence of severability provisions in D&O policies may also provide false comfort against the risk of coverage potentially being eliminated for innocent insureds through the use of “small” words in a bad acts exclusion. A typical severability provision generally precludes imputation of one insured’s knowledge or acts to another for the purposes of determining whether coverage exists under the policy. Frequently, severability provisions may not specifically apply to a bad acts exclusion but rather are a general policy provision. Thus, while a policyholder may assume that a severability provision protects innocent insureds from imputation of another insured’s bad acts, insurance companies have argued that the more specific exclusionary language in a bad acts exclusion trumps a more general severability clause.

 

Good arguments exist against that position, and at least one court, Premier Ins. Co. v. Adams, 632 So.2d 1054, 1057 (Fla. Dist. 5 Ct. App. 1994), has correctly noted that application of “any insured” language to trigger a bad acts exclusion, so as to preclude coverage for all insureds, would render a severability clause meaningless. Nonetheless, policyholders should ensure that the language in their D&O policy’s bad acts exclusions tracks the policy’s severability provision, and that only the bad acts of the insured — not an or any insured — will trigger the exclusions.

 

When reviewing D&O policies, policyholders should pay particular attention to the small (and frequently overlooked) words in the exclusionary language. Those words can often determine whether the exclusion precludes coverage for all insureds, or only the insured whose conduct triggered the exclusion.

 

 

About the Author:

 

Alexander D. Hardiman is a shareholder in the New York office of Anderson Kill, a national law firm. Mr. Hardiman is an experienced litigator, focusing his practice on insurance coverage litigation and dispute resolution, with an emphasis on commercial general liability insurance, directors’ and officers’ insurance, fiduciary liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, and property insurance issues. Contact Alex at ahardiman@andersonkill.com or 212-278-1588

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