2. Markel spars with former execs over relationship, pay
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The combination of reserve problems, regulatory investigations and an alleged undisclosed personal relationship between two executives led to a months-long saga for Markel Corp. this year.
The dispute had its roots in inquiries by U.S. and Bermuda authorities about loss reserves recorded by the Richmond, Virginia-based insurer’s Markel CATCo unit that came to light in December 2018.
A little over a month later, Markel announced that an internal investigation it was conducting into the loss reserve issue had uncovered an undisclosed romantic relationship between the head of the unit and the head of its Bermuda operations.
The story about the firing of the executives was the second most read risk management-related story on Business Insurance’s website in 2019.
In February, the two executives fired back with lawsuits alleging that they were denied more than $70 million in incentive pay as a result of their firings and had been defamed in the process.
The suits detailed allegations about improper searches of their cellphones, which revealed their relationship, and post-event amendments to corporate documents to bar such relationships.
In April, Markel responded with court filings that alleged that one of the executives had approved steep pay raises for the other after the relationship began, among other things.
Markel settled with one of the executives and in July announced it had agreed to arbitrate its pay dispute with the other executive.
