I want to introduce my Thursday morning panel on "D&O Insurance During the Economic Crisis," and of course invite advance questions or comments from anyone who is thinking of attending.
First of all, we have a great panel for you. For openers, Mike Smith, President of the Executive Liability group of AIU Holdings (formerly known as AIG), and Brian Wanat, Managing Director of Aon's financial services group, will start with comments about current market conditions and claim trends. You should learn a lot about the challenging environment you will face when you start thinking about renewing or restructuring your D&O program. Next, David Conca, Director of Risk Management for Time Warner, Inc., will share his practical insights as a policyholder into the issues that you should keep "top of mind" when reviewing your D&O program. Finally, I will wrap up with a "top ten" checklist of policy provisions and coverages that policyholders should look for when trying to strengthen their D&O programs against the particular kinds of challenges we face today -- such as dramatically increased insolvency risks, demands of independent directors for their own dedicated coverages, and the increasing risk of rescission.
We plan to leave plenty of time for questions. But if there is something you would like us to address specifically, please feel free to let us know right here, or stop by to see me at the Proskauer Rose LLP booth (#1873), before Thursday.
See you then, if not before.