Auto Enrolment Consultancy

Pensions form a vital part of the remuneration package in your sector. Companies usually make significant contributions and want to know their staff value the contributions they make. Howden Asset Management can assist with this new legislation (within the UK) in order to maximise tax efficiency, assist with governance and compliance of the scheme, minimise administration given the outsourcing culture of our client base as well as provide employee presentations if required.

Claims Advocacy

A very competitive insurance market brings complication to the claims process as insurers are being squeezed for more coverage and at lower price. Our claims team is front of house and central to our team and given their experience, leverage and reputation they are often asked to handle claims which have not come through our client base. We would be happy to consult on any legacy claim or new circumstance with fees being contingent on performance.

Commercial/Office Cover

Employers Liability is a legal requirement in the UK for all businesses, we offer a fully comprehensive package that provides our clients with everything they need for their office ( whether serviced or not), that includes Employers and Public Liability, Contents, Travel and other liabilities if required. Service turnaround is fast and the product offering and premiums are very competitive given our leveraged position as a group.

Credit Risk Cover

As asset managers increasingly replace the role of banks in the lending and credit space, specialist insurance is available to both transfer credit risk and mitigate potential concentration restrictions faced by the fund. These solutions not only help to manage risk but also act as an enabler in a very competitive marketplace.

Cyber Insurance

Perhaps the most topical areas of discussion within your sector, Cyber Insurance needs to complement your PI and Fraud insurance policy and therefore respond to exposures that are not covered within that policy. Our unique innovative product sits in excess of the IMI policy therefore picking up claims such as restoration & remediation, forensic investigation, crisis response, PR costs, legal and regulatory consultancy and more. This product will also drop down to pick up such events that are not intended to be covered within the IMI policy.

Death in Service

In the very unfortunate instance that a person within the business dying, a Death in Service policy, ( aka - Group Life Assurance), provides the employee’s dependants with a tax-free lump sum benefit and/or a taxable pension to help at this time of need. This is now a standard offering by the this sector to the people and employees, can be structure in different ways and offered in an executive package if required.

Directors & Officers, Professional Indemnity and Crime

Our legally reviewed Fund and Investment Management Liability and Fraud wording is AIFMD compliant and designed to cover costs / settlements associated with liability to others or with regulatory investigations arising from the delivery of professional services and the management of your business and for entity loss as a result of employee and third party fraud. With numerous options to structure cover, our product is designed to cover a group structure on a global basis.

Fund D&O

Our specialist product is designed to protect individuals / fund Directors for expenses, damages and settlements for exposures they face in relation to the duty they have to the fund / company. Coverage is broad and extensive along with premiums being very competitive in the London in insurance market. This is one of Howden’s founding products.

Group Income protection

Should your employees become absent from work because of a long-term illness or injury, the benefit from Group Income Protection provides early intervention and rehabilitation plus a monthly income during their time off work which can be fixed on a long or short term basis.

Keyman Risk

Over the last 5 years we have experienced a sharp increase in the need for Key Person Insurance within this sector, our clients typically rely on the expertise and experience of one and a handful in the senior team. If these individuals were to die or become critically ill, the business may suffer through redemptions. Keyman Insurance is a policy taken out by the company on the life of individuals . In the event of a claim, the company will receive a lump sum designed to cover lost profits, replace the key person or the cost of winding down.

Legal Expenses Cover

Contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, investigations by tax authorities are just a few examples of possible exposures that should be covered by a focused and specific product. Our recently developed legal expenses wording for the asset management industry allows the asset manager to select their own legal representation and use the policy to defend themselves against these types of litigation and investigation which is otherwise excluded from the D&O, Professional Indemnity and Crime policy.

Litigation Solutions

Ranging from placing “after the event” (ATE) cover for adverse legal costs to bespoke insurance policies to indemnify against litigation downside. We look to assist clients to reduce and optimise their exposures to legal disputes and in addition our claims advocacy team provides advice and guidance to clarify key insurance positions. We cover many jurisdictions and provide truly independent advice and access to some unique insurance solutions.

M&A Insurance

M&A/ W&I insurance is being used increasingly more on transactions involving Fund sellers and buyers. Our team of 25 specialists provide products covering unknown risks that might appear post-closing and can cover a wide range of risks including title risk, tax liability, litigation, financial risk, environmental and accounts. Examples of the drivers for this deal tool are as follows:

• Achieve a clean exitWhen survival periods may exceed fund lifetimes, investment mandates may prevent warranties being given or having money in escrow is off the agenda – M&A insurance is used to allow funds to be wound up, to give contractual protection to a buyer without the concerns of recourse and clawback and for proceeds to be distributed to investors immediately rather than tied up.
• Cap your liability It is possible to limit the liability of a PE seller in a transaction to as low as £1.00 and to limit management’s liability to a meaningful amount, typically 0.5% of the deal value. M&A insurance bridges the gap buy offering buyers the protections they need whilst allowing sellers to cap their risk.
• Protect your management Nobody wants to be seeking recourse against their new management team following a transaction. M&A insurance means that, in the event of a claim, buyers turn to an A-rated insurer for financial recourse as oppose to pursuing the sellers which may well be the buyer’s new management team.
• Differentiate your bid M&A insurance offers the flexibility to increase or extend the financial and time limitations set out in acquisition agreements meaning you can offer an attractive alternative for sellers whilst getting the protection you the buyer need from the insurance market.

Partnership Protection

Depending on the structure of your business, on the death of a partner, owner, shareholder or director, our Partnership Protection is designed to provide the funds that the surviving owners need to buy the equity of the business from the deceased owner’s estate therefore mitigating potential disputes or just allowing for business continuity at a time of need.

Political Risk

Rapid economic growth in emerging and frontier markets, often fuelled by favourable demographics and resource rich lands, provides great opportunity for investors. These opportunities are, today, even more pronounced due to continued inertia in a number of the world’s developed economies. This potential heightened rate of return in emerging markets, however, often comes with associated risks such as confiscation, war, political violence, licence cancellation, currency inconvertibility and non-transfer, forced divestiture, breach of government contracts.

Portfolio Co Cover

Our insurance procurement service provides access to key lines of insurance for Private Equity owned portfolio companies which aim to protect the company’s key people and balance sheet and which require specialist knowledge for optimal policy placement and procurement. We recognise each portfolio company individually, providing a tailored solution with a compliant insurance contract at competitive premiums and always keeping the claims handling and advocacy at the core of the service and in within our team.

Private Medical Insurance

Through our Asset Management Employee Benefit specialists within our team, cover provides essential treatments, including surgery, consultations, nursing and hospital care to the people within your business and families if required. Cover can be flexible, depending on the level that your employees feel they need.

Special Situations Insurance

Tailored insurance products that give the ability to transfer one off risks to the insurance market in order to enable a project to resolve a balance sheet problem. This is fast becoming a critical part of our partnership with clients and given our team that includes corporate lawyers and insurance specialists, this is a highly specialised area of our offering.

Tax Liability

Whilst tax can be an area of coverage in other policies we place, there are two focussed and bespoke solutions that we provide: Fund wrap up: For many funds, residual tax liabilities can limit the full distribution of funds to investors and prevent the liquidation of the fund. Howden has worked closely with specialist insurers to develop bespoke policies designed to ring-fence such liabilities. Typical cover can include areas such as residency, trading vs investment, diverted profit tax, interest and penalties and establishment status. Specific Tax Risk : This policy is a bespoke insurance solution designed to transfer an identified tax risk to the insurance market. Whether held by a buyer or seller in a transaction or simply be represented as a potential liability on a corporate balance sheet, the product provides financial cover to the insured in the event of an identified tax risk crystallising into an actual liability.