Of course, if our client can t produce a policy, the insurer usually says it has no record of any coverage and refuses to respond. So it is up to the insured to prove it once had a policy. Insurance archaeologists start their search in a company s own offices, but often insurance records are scattered across the company and stored in basements, forgotten file cabinets and damp storage vaults if they exist at all. Interviewing retirees who handled insurance for the company in the past may also produce leads. Obviously, a copy of the policy itself is the best evidence that coverage exists, but other documentary evidence can persuade the insurance company it has an obligation to defend.
Booth advises clients to have all insurance protection thoroughly documented.
Waiting until they are confronted with a lawsuit can be disastrous. If you don t know which policy covered the risk, he says, searching for it could take so long, the insurance company may deny your claim, saying you didn t give adequate notice of the claim. You don t want to provide the insurance company with an easy way for them to get out of responding to your claim. She says this should convince companies to have a complete audit, recovery and organisation of their past and present insurance policies done. This broadened scope is necessary because of the accelerating pace of merger and acquisition activity, not only between companies, but also involving insurers, brokers and reinsurers.