The Hidden Value Of Historic Insurance Coverage

Originally published in Risk Management magazine (June 2013)

Among the many risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, the legal liabilities of the target company loom large. Accordingly, due diligence teams with legal, financial and technical expertise can spend months poring over databases and documents in an effort to identify the liabilities and assets the company may be procuring. All too often, however, due diligence teams fail to account for what can be a company's most valued asset: its historic insurance program. Insurance policies, sometimes decades old, can provide vital protection for liabilities that emerge after the transaction is completed. They may make the difference between a deal that can be done and a deal that falls through.