ERISA Fiduciary Law Series: Part 3

The Basics of Fiduciary Liability Insurance

This video series on ERISA Fiduciary Law highlights current ERISA issues in the Courts, Congress, or at the DOL. The Courts have been flooded with complex ERISA cases and resolutions to some involved large settlements.  Congress continues to pass legislation affecting employee benefit plans requiring plan sponsors to act.  And the DOL has certain enforcement and regulatory initiatives in the pipeline.  Jose M. Jara, counsel at Fox Rothschild, LLP, will guide you on ERISA topics by discussing in depth with special guests from the insurance industry to provide their insights for mitigating risks.

In Part I of the series, Jose went over the ERISA basics. In Part II, Jose had his first industry guest Larry Fine, Management Liability Coverage Leader at Willis Towers Watson, where they discussed current litigation issues relating to ERISA prohibited Transactions.

Today we launch Part III: The Basics of Fiduciary Liability Insurance.  Jose and his industry guest Alison Martin, Senior Vice President and Fiduciary Liability Product Manager at Chubb Insurance, discuss the ins and outs of a fiduciary liability insurance policy, including what it covers and key provisions of the policy.

You can watch the video below, and keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more installments of this series.

View the previous installments here: Part 1 Part 2

Resources

Chubb Resources

Meet the Speakers

Jose Jara, Esq.

José M. Jara is Counsel in the Employee Benefits Department of Fox Rothschild, LLP, and focuses his practice on ERISA litigation and counseling.  He has defended fiduciaries and boards of directors against ERISA class action litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty, including imprudent investments, excessive fees, and valuation issues in Employee Stock Ownership Plans. Mr. Jara’s practice also includes representing clients under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) regarding civil and/or criminal violations of ERISA. He was formerly a complex claims director for a major international insurance company and a senior pension law specialist with the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. He is currently the Group Chair of the Employee Plans and Executive Compensation Group of the American Bar Association and a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center.

Alison Martin

Alison L. Martin is a Senior Vice President and the Fiduciary Product Manager for Chubb Insurance’s North American Financial Lines, where she is ultimately responsible for the underwriting of fiduciary liability insurance for all varieties of organizations, including publicly traded and privately held companies, not for profit companies and multiemployer plans. Prior to becoming the Product Manager in 2016, she was a leader in Chubb’s claims department for over 15 years, where she handled the most complex and severe ERISA litigation (including excessive fee litigation, employer securities class actions and ESOP suits) and D&O litigation (including securities class actions and merger objection claims.) Ms. Martin speaks extensively, educating others on fiduciary obligations and exposures and transferring risk for these exposures through the use of fiduciary liability insurance.

Prior to working for Chubb, Ms. Martin was engaged in the private practice of law and was a partner with Lindsay Martin & Associates. She was also as a Member of the Board of Governors for the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and served on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law, where she received a Law Fellows Scholarship.