Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) today announced that it has expanded its Executive & Professional Lines appetite to private companies in the U.S., launching the Executive First™ Private Company Portfolio.

The portfolio offers Directors & Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability (EPL), Fiduciary Liability, Employed Lawyers Liability and Commercial Crime Insurance in one clearly written form, crafted expressly for the exposures of privately held businesses.

“Our Private Company Portfolio provides substantive coverage and value in a contemporary and comprehensive form, backed by BHSI’s financial strength,” said Dan Fortin, Head of Executive & Professional Lines, BHSI. “The new form is the first step in our long-term strategy of providing simple, concise management liability solutions for private companies. A similar solution, tailored for nonprofit risks, is coming soon.”

The Executive First Private Company Portfolio is available with shared or separate coverage limits of up to $50 million. Customers purchasing the EPL coverage part will benefit from BHSI’s EPL First, which provides access to an on-line repository of HR training and compliance resources and attorney-client privileged “help line” services from an employment attorney. Both services are provided by Littler Mendelson, the world’s largest employment and labor law firm.

“We look forward to expanding into the private company sector and building lasting relationships with our insureds and brokers,” said Maura Verrone, Head of Private Company and Non-Profit Organizations, Executive & Professional Lines, BHSI. “The relationships developed by our underwriting specialists will be strengthened by the knowledge, experience and accessibility of our in-house claims and legal resources. Our customers can expect a collaborative approach through the entire process from underwriting to claims handling.”

BHSI has established strategic relationships with select insurance brokers to ensure superior service and responsiveness in delivering this new product to private company customers countrywide.

BHSI is initially targeting private companies with revenue in excess of $15 million.

For more information, contact Maura.verrone@bhspecialty.com or 770-625-2519.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (www.bhspecialty.com) provides commercial property, casualty, healthcare professional liability, executive and professional lines, surety, travel, programs, and homeowners insurance. The actual and final terms of coverage for all product lines may vary. It underwrites on the paper of Berkshire Hathaway's National Indemnity group of insurance companies, which hold financial strength ratings of A++ from AM Best and AA+ from Standard & Poor's. Based in Boston, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, San Ramon, Stevens Point, Auckland, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto.