PennSure

US companies can face a variety of legal and/or regulatory issues when either establishing a business operation or investing in the UK. Our US group builds strong client relationships, allowing them to navigate confidently through any UK legal concerns. We provide proactive advice and practical tools to help control potential difficulties before they arise.

As part of our service, we are proud to offer US businesses preferential access to PennSure, an annual management liability insurance product developed by Axa that gives policyholders reassurance on an unrivalled range of legal and regulatory matters in the UK for a fixed annual premium. Policyholders can receive support from our specialist teams on:

• contract disputes
• directors’ and shareholders’ duties
• financial crime
• criminal offences
• intellectual property, data protection and cyber crime
• human resources and employment
• money laundering, fraud, bribery, corruption and anti-competitive practices
• health and safety
• waste and environmental regulations

For a summary of the UK legal and regulatory cover provided, please click here.

Key information:

• annual cover is arranged via Stackhouse Poland (insurance broker);
• cover ranges from up to £100,000 to £5 million; 
• unless stated otherwise, the limit of cover applies to each and every claim and includes defence costs, settlements and awards made; 
• there is no restriction on the number of claims in any one period of insurance;
• unlike other insurance products of this type, PennSure cover is not subject to a prospects of success test;
• cover applies from receipt of a solicitor’s letter (rather than receipt of a claim form);
• if we advise that a policyholder’s defence to a claim has more than a 60% prospect of success, the policyholder can elect to defend the claim even if the insurer would normally wish to settle for financial or other reasons;
• for directors’ and officers’ claims, there is nil excess to pay;
• for employment practices liability claims, the standard excess is £2,500 but this is waived in full if legal advice is taken from Penningtons Manches Cooper in advance (concerning any matter that may lead to an employment practices claim). To support this, we also offer a complimentary annual PennSure HR helpline service.

For more information about PennSure and to receive a no obligation fixed cost quotation for an annual policy, contact either the Penningtons Manches Cooper solicitor you usually deal with, or Chris Syder.