During the 17 years or so of this blog’s existence, we have featured many Delaware decisions on the topic of indemnification and advancement for directors and officers, interpreting a company’s obligations to make those payments pursuant to Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) Section 145, in addition to contract-based claims for advancement and indemnification. See also several book chapters I have published on advancement and indemnification as the Chair of the Indemnification and Advancement Subcommittee of the ABA Business Law Section’s Corporate Litigation Committee.  Enough background, and now for the main event:

The purpose of this short post is to make note of a consequential amendment, recently passed by the Delaware Legislature and signed by Gov. Carney, to DGCL Section 145, which as amended allows Delaware companies to use a captive insurance company to provide coverage for directors and officers–such as for purposes contemplated by Section 145–but with a few key exceptions. Relevant to this statutory amendment is a recent Delaware Supreme Court decision that concluded: Delaware’s statutory indemnification provisions allow corporations to purchase D&O insurance “against any liability,” whether or not the corporation has the power to indemnify against such liability.  

One of Delaware’s favorite nationally recognized corporate law scholars and one of the leading indigenous Delaware firms have provided exemplary commentary on this new development in corporate law. Those interested in this development should also read the reliably thoughtful insights by D&O insurance expert Kevin LaCroix on his widely-read blog, The D&O Diary.