Product News

ACE Introduces ACE Advantage® Global Protection – The First Global Directors & Officers Coverage

PHILADELPHIA — August 31, 2006 – Boardroom liability has moved into the global courtroom and today’s directors and officers of multinational corporations face growing and unique exposures in many countries. The ACE Group of Companies introduced today the ACE Advantage® Global Protection program, the first global directors & officers coverage which provides a matrix of admitted and non-admitted policies around the world to protect multinational companies from exposures to management and professional liability incidents.

Here are several recent examples which support the need for the ACE Advantage® Global Protection program:

• The European Union Commission made corporate governance proposals in areas ranging from accounting reforms to board liability, following numerous high-profile corporate scandals.

• In the United Kingdom, a proposed statutory revision would make it possible, for the first time under English law, for minority shareholders to bring an action on behalf of the company against a director on the basis that the executive was negligent in his or her duties.

• In Brazil, directors and officers are personally liable for negligence in the discharge of their duties or abuse of power and, if sued, their personal bank accounts may be frozen until the case is resolved.

• In Ontario, Canada, securities laws were recently changed to permit investors to sue directors and officers for misrepresentations without the need to prove reliance on the misrepresentations, heretofore a significant hurdle to plaintiffs.

“The global marketplace can be an extremely risky environment for business, as well as one of enormous opportunity for multinationals,” states Brian Dowd, CEO, ACE North America. “ACE’s network of experienced and knowledgeable underwriting and claims professionals understand and provide protection for directors and officers facing the complexities and challenges of conducting business across many borders.”

“When you work with ACE, you are tapping into a powerful global network,” states John Keogh, CEO, ACE Overseas General. “ACE has a physical presence in more than 55 countries with the authority to transact business in more than 140. ACE provides a one-stop solution for multinational companies conducting business through operations around the globe.”

ACE offers it clients one of the broadest directors and officers liability policies, providing protection on an admitted basis. This policy applies to acts and claims not only in the U.S., but anywhere in the world where coverage is permitted. Where non-U.S. coverage is needed, the company has access to its global network of underwriters. This global presence gives ACE the ability to provide multinational clients with local directors and officers liability policies in countries where local laws require local coverage or where local boards desire local solutions crafted specifically for local exposures.

The ACE Group of Companies, through ACE Advantage® Global Protection program, provides a uniquely comprehensive, global solution for protecting companies and their executives conducting business, offering both admitted and non-admitted product solutions to the matrix of insurance requirements around the world. Find out more about ACE and its global D&O solutions by contacting Vince McGeehan at +1 646-458-6972 or visit www.acelimited.com.

The ACE Group of Companies is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. Headed by ACE Limited, a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, the ACE Group conducts its business on a worldwide basis with operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries. Additional information can be found at: www.acelimited.com.

Media Contact
John W. Herbkersman
ACE North America
215 640-5119
john.herbkersman@ace-ina.com

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