Does My Business Need Colorado Directors And Officers Liability Insurance?
If your business has a corporate board, an advisory committee, or has any other type of officer, you should seriously consider investing in a Colorado directors and officers liability insurance policy.
You don’t have to make millions of dollars in revenue for your board of directors to have a personal lawsuit filed against them. Businesses that are on the smaller side and don’t generate a sizeable revenue are likely to need the protection that this type of coverage offers just as much, if not even more so, than large public companies.
What Does Colorado Directors And Officers Liability Insurance Cover?
CO directors and officers liability insurance offers protection for the personal assets of a business’ board of corporate directors and officers, as well as their spouses, if they are ever faced with a personal lawsuit. This includes any lawsuits that may be filed by employees, vendors, investors, customers, competitors and various other people, and suits may filed for real or alleged wrongdoings that have occurred while managing a company. This policy usually protects a business, too.
A Colorado directors and officers liability insurance policy covers any legal costs, including attorney and court fees, as well as settlements, that may occur when a personal lawsuit is filed against a company’s corporate directors and officers.
Why is D&O insurance so important? There are a number of reasons why someone might decide to sue an officer of a business. Some examples include:
- Using business money in a way that it is not intended to be used
- Fraud
- The misrepresentation of the assets that a company offers
- A breach of financial duties that ends up causing financial losses or even bankruptcy
- Not complying with laws that are established for the workplace
- Misconduct or inappropriate behavior in the workplace, such as sexual harassment
- Stealing the ideas of another business and making revenue off of those ideas
- Theft of a competitor’s customer base
While Colorado directors and officers liability insurance does cover a wide variety of lawsuit types, it is important to note that a policy usually does not cover any illegal actions or profits that may be made in an unlawful way.
What Colorado Directors And Officers Liability Insurance Doesn’t Cover
D&O insurance typically does not cover (excludes):
- bodily injury and property damage
- fraud and dishonest acts
- pollution
- breach of contract
Most of the time, a CO D&O policy will include endorsements with additional exclusions based on the applicant’s risk characteristics. These exclusions might relate to areas such as professional services, antitrust, medical malpractice, and publishing.
Types of Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Coverage
When it comes to D and O insurance, people who own a business have several options to choose from and can adjust their polices to their needs. However, there are three main types of coverage. This includes the following:
- A-Side Coverage. This coverage protects directors, officers and in some cases, employees, for attorney fees, settlement costs, or judgments if a business is unable to cover them.
- B-Side Coverage. This coverage shields the company for any losses that directors, officers and employees may experience if a business is unable to cover them.
- C-Side Coverage. This is also known as entity coverage and it protects the company itself. This coverage my minimize the limits that are available to coverage for individual directors and officers.
How Much Does Colorado Directors And Officers Liability Insurance Cost?
How much does Colorado directors and officers liability insurance cost? There are several factors that affect the cost of directors and officers insurance coverage. The type of business you run, the amount of revenue you may, and whether or not there have been any legal claims filed against your company in the past are all factors that are taken into consideration when determining the cost of coverage.
Further Reading On Management Liability Insurance
CO Directors And Officers Liability Insurance Quotes
Request a Colorado Directors And Officers Liability Insurance quote in Alamosa, Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Broomfield, Castle Pines North, Castle Rock, Canon City, Centennial, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Craig, Delta, Denver, Durango, Englewood, Erie, Evans, Federal Heights, Firestone, Fort Collins, Fort Morgan, Fountain, Frederick, Fruita, Glenwood Springs, Golden, Grand Junction, Greeley, Greenwood Village, Johnstown, Lafayette, Lakewood, Littleton, Lone Tree, Longmont, Louisville, Loveland, Montrose, Northglenn, Parker, Pueblo, Rifle, Steamboat Springs, Sterling, Superior, Thornton, Trinidad, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Windsor and all other cities in CO.
Colorado Insurance Regulations & Limits
When it comes to insurance regulations in Colorado, there are a few things that you want to be aware of. Let's take a look at the laws and rules surrounding insurance in CO.
Colorado Commercial Insurance
The most common type of business insurance is liability insurance. Commercial liability insurance is required to cover things like property damage, bodily injury, personal injury, advertising injury and legal defense and judgments. Colorado is a fault state, and businesses are not required to carry liability insurance in order to operate. There is a cap on damages that are not economic set at 468 010 USD with a higher limit set at 936 030 USD for non-economic damages in which it can be proven that the original damage amount is too low. However, these cases are rare.
Punitive damages in exemplary damages are almost unheard of in Colorado, but there is no limit on economic damages. The statute of limitations to file against types of damages is two years - or three years if the damages were sustained in a vehicle. Most experts recommend the businesses carry anywhere from 500 000 USD to 1 000 000 USD in general liability coverage.
The only other requirements for businesses that you need to be aware of is the requirement for any business that hires hourly or wage employees to carry Worker's Compensation insurance and for those same companies to have minimum insurance coverage on their vehicles which for a vehicle used for business purposes means that you will have to purchase a commercial auto insurance policy.
CO Personal Insurance
The most common type of personal insurance is the one that everyone is required to have - auto insurance. The law requires that you have at least 25 000 USD per person and at least 50 000 USD per accident in liability insurance; as well as an additional 15 000 USD for property damage. These are the main regulations covering auto insurance in Colorado and they are very similar to the regulations found in most of the other states.
The only additional regulation that you need to be aware of when it comes to personal insurance has to do with life insurance. If you have life insurance, your insurance provider is required to give you a one month grace period before they can cancel your policy due to nonpayment. This protects consumers against having policies canceled due to having a late payment. This is the only regulation you should know when it comes to life insurance.