Bloomberg – The cost of insuring hedge funds against negligence has risen as much as 20 percent in the past six months after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy and Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme increased the threat of lawsuits.
A fund manager with $200 million of assets running a “straightforward” strategy is typically paying as much as $60,000 a year for $5 million of coverage, up from $50,000 at the end 2008, said Brian Horwell, director of professional risks at London-based Miller Insurance Services Ltd.
“We’ve had Lehman Brothers, Madoff and the financial downturn, all of which are hitting claims,” said Paul Towler, head of financial and professional insurance at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc in London. “There’s a lot of worry and concern about what other claims are still to come out.”
