Does An Innocent Outside Director’s D&O Insurance Coverage Sink With The Ship?

It turns out you were serving the wrong company. Its front page news that the thriving, expanding superpower to which you were providing guidance is alleged to have engaged in financial reporting irregularities. They allegedly concealed information from their stockholders, their employees, the SEC and you. Most unfortunately to your rapidly shrinking bottom line, the inside director in charge of procuring D&O insurance, insurance which is supposed to offer you protection at times like this, is alleged to have concealed information from your D&O insurance company. The result? With alleged liabilities mounting and the press and Congress yelling for blood, the D&O insurance company suggests it will pull the rug out from under you and rescind the D&O coverage for innocent outside directors like you upon which you relied in taking the job in the first place because of alleged “misrepresentations” made at the time of policy purchase or renewal.