Updated Handbook Helps Directors and Officers Manage Securities Litigation Exposures
WARREN, NJ, September 7, 2005 - The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has released an updated version of its Directors and Officers Securities Litigation
Loss Prevention handbook, which now includes a new chapter on liability exposures related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
"Companies can use the new Sarbanes-Oxley chapter to help pinpoint and correct many areas of vulnerability to securities litigation,"
said Tony Galban, senior vice president and global directors and officers liability manager for Chubb Specialty Insurance.
"The handbook also helps management reduce its exposure to litigation by addressing topics such as forward-looking statements,
communication with analysts, selective disclosure and Internet disclosure."
According to a National Economic Research Associates study, mean settlement amounts for shareholder class-action liability
lawsuits increased by 33% in 2004 to $27.1 million. The study also determined that the average public corporation has a 10%
risk of facing at least one class-action lawsuit during the next five years.
"A securities-related lawsuit can devastate a company financially as well as destroy its public image," said Galban. "Companies
can help reduce their risk through the implementation of thorough securities litigation loss prevention programs."
Chubb's Directors and Officers Securities Litigation Loss Prevention handbook offers risk-reduction tips in areas such as:
establishing the proper disclosure culture and protocol, dealing with analysts, managing your corporate Web site and complying
with insider trading restrictions.
"This updated handbook is an important component of our overall D&O liability loss prevention program, which also includes
handbooks for independent directors, as well as directors and officers in publicly traded and privately held companies and
not-for-profit organizations," said Galban.
For more information about Chubb's Directors and Officers Securities Litigation Loss Prevention handbook or any of Chubb's
other loss prevention guides, contact a Chubb branch office.
The member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies form a multi-billion dollar organization providing property
and casualty insurance for personal and commercial customers worldwide through 8,000 independent agents and brokers. Chubb's
global network includes branches and affiliates in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
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