Understanding Insurance Issues In Securities Arbitration and Mediation

Insurance issues often influence the outcome of securities arbitrations and mediations, yet the workings of errors and omissions insurance is not fully understood by many lawyers, arbitrators and mediators. In fact, insurance information is generally not disclosable in securities arbitration, and is considered confidential information by many broker-dealers and insurance industry professionals. The overwhelming majority of securities arbitrations are litigated before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Yet the FINRA discovery guide does not require disclosure of insurance information in customer arbitrations, although a proposal has been floated which would make the respondent’s insurance coverage potentially discoverable. This article will survey some common insurance issues in arbitration and mediation, including conflicts of interest.

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