Document:

EX-10.76

EXHIBIT 10.76

CONSULTING AGREEMENT

     This
Consulting Agreement, dated as of February 24, 2009 (the “Consulting Agreement”) for
consulting services to be provided by Patrick J. Haveron (the “Consultant”) to Tower Group, Inc.,
its parent, subsidiary and affiliated corporations, and their respective successors and assigns
(collectively, “Tower”).

     1. The term of this Consulting Agreement will be for a period of six (6) months beginning on
March 2, 2009 and ending on August 28, 2009 (the “Term”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
in this Consulting Agreement, this Consulting Agreement will be signed contemporaneously with the
Separation Agreement between Consultant and Tower dated the date hereof (the “Separation
Agreement”), and this Consulting Agreement will not become effective unless and until Consultant
has signed and has not revoked (as set forth in paragraph 16 of the Separation Agreement) the
Separation Agreement.

     2. During the Term, Consultant will, as an independent contractor, provide such consulting
services and make himself reasonably available for such projects and meetings in connection
therewith, during normal business hours, as Tower shall from time to time request, subject to
Consultant’s other employment and consultancies and other business pursuits and activities. Tower
and Consultant agree and acknowledge that the level of services reasonably anticipated to be
performed by Consultant is 20 percent or less of the average level of services performed by
Consultant during the 24-month period immediately preceding February 27, 2009.

     3. As consideration for the provision of the consulting services, Tower will pay to Consultant
the aggregate sum of $85,000.00, payable in two equal installments on or before March 2, 2009 (or,
if later, on the date this Consulting Agreement becomes effective as provided in paragraph 1) and
August 28, 2009.

     4. Nothing in this Consulting Agreement shall be construed as creating any partnership, joint
venture or agency between Tower and Consultant. The parties expressly agree and acknowledge that
Consultant shall act solely as an independent contractor hereunder and, as such, is not authorized
to represent or bind Tower to third parties. Consultant agrees that he will not, without the prior
written consent of Tower in each instance, (1) send any written or electronic correspondence on
behalf of Tower, or any affiliate of Tower, or any employee of Tower, or use any trade name,
trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation
thereof owned by Tower or its affiliates, or (2) represent, directly or indirectly, that Consultant
has any authority to act for or on behalf of Tower. Tower shall issue a form 1099 with respect to
the payment made pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Consulting Agreement. Neither federal, state, nor
local taxes of any kind shall be withheld or paid by Tower on behalf of Consultant in connection
with the payment made by Tower under paragraph 3 hereof. Consultant shall be responsible for
determining the amounts of and making all such payments. Consultant shall indemnify, defend and
hold Tower, its officers, directors, agents, employees, contractors and shareholders harmless from and against any and all claims,

 

 

liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees
and expenses) arising out of or relating to the foregoing responsibilities of Consultant.

     5. Tower shall indemnify, defend and hold Consultant and his successors, assigns, heirs,
executors, administrators and legal representatives harmless from and against any and all claims,
liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees
and expenses) arising out of or relating to (a) the foregoing responsibilities of Consultant,
except to the extent Consultant has acted with gross negligence or willful misconduct, and (b) any
breach by Tower of its obligations under paragraph 3.

     6. Consultant is not an employee of Tower and, except as expressly provided in the Separation
Agreement, is not entitled to participate in any of Tower’s employee benefit plans including, but
not limited to, any retirement, pension, profit sharing, group insurance, health insurance or
similar plans that have been or may be instituted by Tower for the benefit of its employees. Tower
will reimburse Consultant for all reasonable expenses incurred by Consultant and approved in
advance by Tower, upon the receipt by Tower of appropriate supporting documentation acceptable to
Tower, in connection with Consultant’s performance of consulting services hereunder. For purposes
of satisfying Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any related
regulations or other effective guidance promulgated thereunder (“Section 409A”), (i) all
reimbursement payments, if any, shall in all events be made no later than the end of the calendar
year following the calendar year in which the applicable expense is incurred, (ii) the amount of
expenses eligible for reimbursement during any calendar year may not affect the amount of expenses
eligible for reimbursement in any other calendar year, and (iii) the right to reimbursement under
this paragraph 6 is not subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit.

     7. All proposals, research, records, reports, recommendations, manuals, findings, evaluations,
forms, reviews, information, data and written materials originated or prepared by Consultant for
and in the performance of the consulting services hereunder shall become the exclusive property of
Tower, and shall be considered to be works for hire belonging to Tower, and Consultant shall
relinquish and hereby assigns any and all right, title, and interest in and to such material to
Tower. Consultant agrees to execute any and all documents prepared by Tower and to do any and all
other lawful acts as may be required by Tower to establish, document and protect such rights of
Tower.

     8. Consultant agrees not to disclose (except for the purpose of performing his
responsibilities under this Consulting Agreement), nor use for Consultant’s benefit or the benefit
of any other person or entity, any information received from Tower which is confidential or
proprietary and (i) has not been disclosed publicly by Tower, (ii) is not otherwise a matter of
public knowledge or (iii) is a matter of public knowledge but which Consultant knows or has reason
to know became a matter of public knowledge through an unauthorized disclosure. Proprietary or
confidential information shall include but not be limited to information the unauthorized
disclosure or use of which would reduce the value of such information to Tower. Such information
includes, without limitation, Tower’s client lists, its trade secrets, any confidential information
about (or provided by) any client or prospective or former client of Tower, information concerning Tower’s business or financial affairs, including its books and
records, commitments, procedures, plans and prospects, products developed by Tower, securities

 

 

positions, or current or prospective transactions or business of Tower. Consultant hereby confirms
that on or, immediately upon Tower’s request, at any time prior to the conclusion of the Term,
Consultant will deliver to Tower and retain no copies of any written materials, records and
documents (including those that are electronically stored) made by Consultant or coming into
Consultant’s possession during the Term which contain or refer to any such proprietary or
confidential information. Consultant further confirms that on or, immediately upon Tower’s
request, at any time prior to the conclusion of the Term, Consultant will deliver to Tower any and
all property and equipment of Tower, which is in Consultant’s possession, but excluding
Consultant’s laptop computer.

     9. Except for matters covered under paragraphs 7 or 8 hereof, in the event of any dispute or
difference between Tower and Consultant with respect to the subject matter of this Consulting
Agreement and the enforcement of rights hereunder, either Consultant or Tower may, by written
notice to the other, require such dispute or difference to be submitted to arbitration. The
arbitrator or arbitrators shall be selected by agreement of the parties or, if they cannot agree on
an arbitrator or arbitrators within 30 days after the date arbitration is required by either party,
then the arbitrator or arbitrators shall be selected by the American Arbitration Association upon
the application of Consultant or Tower. The determination reached in such arbitration shall be
final and binding on both parties without any right of appeal or further dispute. Execution of the
determination by such arbitrator or arbitrators may be sought in any court of competent
jurisdiction. The arbitrator or arbitrators shall not be bound by judicial formalities and may
abstain from following the strict rules of evidence and shall interpret this Consulting Agreement
as an honorable engagement and not merely as a legal obligation. Unless otherwise agreed by the
parties, any such arbitration shall take place in New York, New York.

     10. If any of the provisions, terms or clauses of this Consulting Agreement are declared
illegal, unenforceable or ineffective in a legal forum, those provisions, terms and clauses shall
be deemed severable, such that all other provisions, terms and clauses of this Consulting Agreement
shall remain valid and binding upon both parties.

     11. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed by
first class, registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or postage prepaid or
personally delivered (including delivery by overnight couriers such as Federal Express), addressed
as follows:

If to Tower:

Tower Group, Inc.

120 Broadway, 14th Floor

New York, NY 10271-1699

Attention: General Counsel

If to Consultant:

Patrick J. Haveron

147 Fernwood Drive

Old Tappan, New Jersey 07675

 

 

Each party hereto may designate in writing a new address to which any notice or other communication
may thereafter be so given, served or sent. Each notice or other communication that shall be
mailed in the manner described above shall be deemed sufficiently given, served, sent or received
for all purposes at such time as it is delivered to the addressee or at such time as delivery is
refused by the addressee upon presentation.

     12. This Consulting Agreement may not be assigned, transferred or subcontracted, in whole or
in part, by Consultant.

     13. This Consulting Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws
of the State of New York without regard to conflicts of law principles.

     14. This Consulting Agreement and the Separation Agreement set forth the entire understanding
of the parties hereto relating to the retention of Consultant by Tower, and all other previous and
contemporaneous understandings and agreements relating to the retention of Consultant by Tower,
whether written, oral or electronic, are hereby superseded. None of the terms or provisions hereof
shall be modified or waived, and this Consulting Agreement may not be amended or terminated, except
by a written instrument signed by the party against which modification, waiver, amendment or
termination is to be enforced. No waiver of any one provision shall be construed as a waiver of
any other provision and the fact that an obligation is waived for a period of time shall not be
considered to be a continuous waiver.

     15. This Consulting Agreement may be executed in counterparts and both counterparts so
executed shall constitute one agreement, binding on the parties hereto.

     16. This Consulting Agreement is intended to meet the requirements of Section 409A, and shall
be interpreted and construed consistent with that intent.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Consulting
Agreement as of the date first set forth above.

	 	 	 	 	 
	/s/ Patrick J. Haveron 	 	 
	
Patrick J. Haveron

 	 	 
	 
	TOWER GROUP, INC.

 	 	 
	By:  	/s/
Elliot S. Orol 	 	 
	 	Authorized OfficerEX-10.77

EXHIBIT 10.77

February 23, 2009

VIA FACSIMILE

Brookfield US Corporation

Three World Financial Center

200 Vesey Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10281-1021

Facsimile: (212) 417-7262

Attention: Bruce Robertson

	 	 	 	Re: Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”), dated as of August 27,
2008, by and among CastlePoint Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (“Purchaser”),
HIG, Inc. (the “Company”) and Brookfield US Corporation (“Seller”)

Dear Bruce:

     In our recent conversations, we discussed the mutual desirability of agreeing prior to closing
on (i) certain significant line items solely for purposes of the closing date balance sheet process
under Section 3.3 of the Agreement, and (ii) the other amendments to the Agreement set
forth below.

     Consistent with these discussions and based upon the information provided by Representatives
of Seller and the Company to Purchaser at and following our meeting in New York on February 9,
2009, in accordance with Section 12.4 of the Agreement, Purchaser, Seller and the Company
hereby agree as follows:

	1.	 	Section 3.1 of the Agreement is hereby amended to delete the reference to
“$27,000,000” and insert in lieu thereof “$31,500,000.” Section 3.2 of the Agreement
is hereby amended to delete the reference to “Twenty-Seven Million Dollars ($27,000,000)” and
insert in lieu thereof “$31,500,000.” The term “Closing Date” in Section 3.2 and
Section 3.3 of the Agreement shall mean December 31, 2008 (and shall not mean the date
on which the Closing actually occurs); provided, however, that the first
reference to Closing Date in Section 3.3(a) shall mean the date on which the Closing occurs.

	2.	 	Section 4.3(a) of the Agreement is hereby amended to delete the reference to
“February 27, 2009” and insert in lieu thereof “March 27, 2009.”

	3.	 	Attached hereto as Schedule 1 to this letter agreement is a pro forma balance sheet
on which certain line items are marked with an asterisk. The amounts set forth next to each
line item designated with an asterisk on Schedule 1 hereto shall be the amounts set
forth on the Closing Date Balance Sheet for each such line item and such amounts shall not be

 

 

	 	 	disputed by either party in connection with determining the Final Closing Book Value. For
the avoidance of doubt and notwithstanding anything in this letter agreement or the
Agreement to the contrary, for purposes of determining the Final Closing Book Value, the
parties agree that any net income or loss for the period from January 1, 2009 through the
Closing Date, including (for greater clarity) any change in assets or liabilities resulting
from the earning or incurring of such net income or loss, shall not be taken into account.
The parties agree and acknowledge that the amounts set forth next to each line item not
designated with an asterisk on Schedule 1 hereto can and may differ in the Estimated
Closing Book Value, the Closing Date Balance Sheet and the Notice of Balance Sheet
Disagreement in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

	4.	 	The Company shall cause the Insurance Subsidiaries to request that the applicable insurance
regulatory authorities extend their respective filing deadlines with respect to the annual
audited statutory statements for the year ended December 31, 2008, for each of the Insurance
Subsidiaries (the “2008 SAP Statements”) to March 15, 2009, and Purchaser hereby
consents to the making of such requests by the Insurance Subsidiaries. Purchaser further
agrees that the financial statements (including the 2008 SAP Statements) required to be
provided by the Company to Purchaser pursuant to Section 8.13 of the Agreement for the
fiscal year and quarter ended December 31, 2008, shall not be required to be provided to
Purchaser until two (2) Business Days following the filing of the 2008 SAP Statements with the
applicable regulatory authorities.

	5.	 	Without limiting paragraph 3 above and except as required by applicable Law, prior to the
Closing (provided that the Closing occurs before the filing of the 2008 SAP Statements),
Seller agrees (i) to continue to set loss and loss adjustment expense reserves (including
incurred but not reported loss reserves) in the Ordinary Course of Business and (ii) without
the written consent of Purchaser, not to release any loss or loss adjustment expense reserves
(including incurred but not reported loss reserves) other than to pay claims in the Ordinary
Course of Business. In accordance with the foregoing and for purposes of greater clarity,
Purchaser hereby agrees and acknowledges that Seller, the Company and the Insurance
Subsidiaries shall, in connection with the filing of the 2008 SAP Statements (if the Closing
has not yet occurred), (X) set loss and loss adjustment expense reserves (including incurred
but not reported loss reserves) and (Y) release any loss or loss adjustment expense reserves
(including incurred but not reported loss reserves), as they determine to be appropriate;
provided, that any such setting or releasing of any loss and loss adjustment expense
reserves (including incurred but not reported loss reserves) shall be in accordance with the
terms of the Agreement, SAP and applicable Law.

	6.	 	Upon execution of this letter agreement, Seller and the Company shall cause Hermitage to
satisfy the investment requirements under Section 1402 of the New York Insurance Law to enable
Hermitage to complete the amendment of its charter to duplicate the powers of the subsidiaries
of Tower Group, Inc.

	7.	 	Provided that the Closing occurs prior to the filing of the 2008 SAP Statements, at the
Closing the Company shall set its loss and loss adjustment expense reserves as directed 

 

 

	 	 	by
Purchaser and confirmed by Purchaser’s outside actuary. The parties agree and acknowledge
that such setting of the loss and loss adjustment expense reserves by the Company shall have
no effect on the Purchase Price.

     The parties acknowledge and agree that nothing in this letter agreement shall constitute a
waiver of any rights of any party under the Agreement (other than the waiver of the right to
dispute the amounts set forth next to each line item designated with an asterisk on Schedule
1 hereto as set forth in paragraph 3 above), including the waiver of any breach of any
provision of the Agreement or the failure of any condition precedent under the Agreement.

     This letter agreement and Schedule 1 hereto, the Confidentiality Agreement and the
Agreement, together with the Schedules and Exhibits thereto and any certificates, documents,
instruments and writings that are delivered pursuant thereto, constitute the entire understanding
and agreement of the parties in respect of the subject matter hereof and thereof.

     Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the
Agreement.

     Except for the amendments provided for herein, all other provisions of the Agreement shall
continue in full force and effect and be binding upon the parties hereto.

     This letter agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts, each counterpart when so
executed and delivered, including by facsimile, constituting an original, but all such counterparts
together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

     If the foregoing correctly sets forth our understanding, please indicate your acceptance of
the terms hereof by signing and returning to us an executed counterpart hereof, whereupon this
letter agreement shall constitute a binding agreement among us and shall constitute an amendment to
the Agreement in accordance with Section 12.4 thereof.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	PURCHASER:

CASTLEPOINT REINSURANCE COMPANY, LTD.

 	 
	 	By:  	/s/ Joel S. Weiner
 	 
	 	 	Name:  	Joel S. Weiner 	 
	 	 	Title:  	Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer 	 
	 

Agreed and accepted as of the date

first above written:

COMPANY:

HIG, INC.

 

 

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 
	By:  	                   /s/ Aleks Novakoviz
 	 	 
	 	Name:  	Aleks Novakoviz 	 	 
	 	Title:  	VP 	 	 
	 
	SELLER:

BROOKFIELD US CORPORATION

 	 	 
	By:  	/s/ Aleks Novakoviz
 	 	 
	 	Name:  	Aleks Novakoviz 	 	 
	 	Title:  	VP 	 	 
	 

	cc: 	 	 Roger A. Brown, Esq.

Senior Counsel, Tower Group, Inc.

D. Gilbert Friedlander, Esq.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Elliot S. Orol, Esq.

General Counsel, Tower Group, Inc.

John M. Schwolsky, Esq.

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

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