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ATS Medical - Self-insurance Trust Agreement
EXHIBIT 10.13
HELIX BIOCORE, INC.
SELF-INSURANCE
TRUST AGREEMENT
This Agreement is made as of this 28th day of February, 1991, by and between Helix BioCore, Inc. a Minnesota corporation ("HBI") and Richfield Bank & Trust Co. ("Trustee").
WHEREAS, HBI desires to indemnify its past and present directors and officers, as listed on Exhibit A (the "Beneficiaries"), against liability claims and expenses which they may become obligated to pay as a result of wrongful acts or omissions or alleged wrongful acts or omissions arising out of duties which they performed for HBI in their official capacity; and
WHEREAS, as of the effective date of this Agreement, commercial insurance coverage is prohibitively expensive and inadequate; and
WHEREAS, qualified directors and officers would be unwilling to serve in such capacities without adequate assurances of protection from such claims; and
WHEREAS, HBI desires to contribute to a trust fund assets sufficient to pay all expenses incurred in investigating, settling and defending against such claims and amounts due from such claims or to use such funds to purchase insurance to provide protection against said claims and expenses arising therefrom for the Beneficiaries; and
WHEREAS, the Trustee is willing to receive and to hold such assets in trust in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement;
THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST
1.1 Purpose of Trust. HBI hereby establishes this Trust for the purposes of (a) indemnifying Beneficiaries in accordance with, and to the fullest extent permissible under, the provisions of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act, as it may from time to time be amended, and (b) paying officers and directors liability insurance premiums, and hereby delivers to the Trustee the sum of $200,000, to be held in a fund (the "Trust Fund") for the benefit of the Beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of this Trust Agreement. HBI may deliver additional funds to the Trustee from time to time to be similarly held.
1.2 Initial Contribution. The Trustee acknowledges receipt of the initial $200,000 contribution and agrees to hold, invest and reinvest such assets as HBI may from time to time pay over, together with any income and earnings thereon, in trust for the purposes stated herein in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
1.3 Contract Rights. The rights of the Beneficiaries under this Trust are contract rights based upon good and valuable consideration and shall be enforceable the same as if the provisions hereof were set forth in a separate written contract between HBI and each Beneficiary. It is expressly intended that the indemnification provided hereunder shall extend to derivative actions against officers or directors that otherwise qualify for indemnification pursuant to the Minnesota Business Corporation Act.
ARTICLE 2
2.1 Consent Defined. Wherever Consent is required in this Agreement, Consent shall be defined as follows:
(a) HBI shall obtain a majority vote, approving the proposed
action, of each of two classes of Beneficiaries, namely,
current directors and officers of HBI (Class 1) and past
directors and officers of HBI (Class 2).
(b) The following Beneficiaries shall be excluded from such
classes and shall not be entitled to vote under this
Article:
(i) Heirs and personal representatives of deceased officers
and directors;
(ii) Mentally incompetent Beneficiaries;
(iii) Beneficiaries who cannot be located through the notice
procedures described in Section 8.7 and after additional
reasonable efforts;
(iv) Beneficiaries who do not respond to a notice requesting
Consent by the time designated in the notice; and
(v) If payment of a claim is involved, a Beneficiary on
whose behalf the claim would be paid.
(c) Class 2 shall not be entitled to vote on any Consent issues
until it contains at least 5 members, after the exclusions
in (b) above
2.2 Notice. HBI, when seeking Consent as required in this Agreement, shall notify all Beneficiaries eligible to vote, in accordance with Section 8.7, providing said Beneficiaries with a reasonable time in which to respond. The Beneficiaries shall respond with notice of approval or disapproval within the time limits set out in the notice.
2.3 Certificate of Consent. HBI shall promptly certify to the receipt or non-receipt of such Consent upon written request of any party to this Trust Agreement.
ARTICLE 3
3.1 Date of Coverage. New directors and officers of HBI shall become Beneficiaries under this Trust Agreement and shall be listed on Schedule A upon election as a director or officer of HBI. Beneficiary status shall last for the duration of the Trust Agreement unless a Beneficiary elects out, in accordance with Section 3.3 below.
3.2 Heirs and Representatives of Beneficiaries. The term Beneficiary shall include heirs and representatives of deceased past directors and officers against whom claims have been brought for wrongful acts or omissions arising out of official duties performed for HBI.
3.3 Election Out of Coverage. Any past or present officer or director may elect to not become a Beneficiary under this Trust Agreement. Written notice of election out of Beneficiary status shall be delivered to the Trustee and to HBI and shall be effective upon receipt of such notice by the Trustee.
3.4 Process of Indemnification. A Beneficiary seeking indemnification under this Agreement shall submit to HBI a certificate containing the following information:
(a) a description of the nature of the claim for which a right
to receive payments hereunder is asserted and the identity
of the persons who have made or threatened the claim;
(b) copies of all papers served on the Beneficiary in connection
with the claim;
(c) a written undertaking satisfactory to HBI to repay to the
Trust any amounts paid or applied to or for the use of the
Beneficiary pursuant to this Trust in the event a
determination is made by the Trustee that under applicable
law payments to the Beneficiary are not lawful and proper in
the circumstances; and
(d) a written undertaking satisfactory to HBI to keep HBI fully
informed of the progress of the claim and to deliver
promptly to HBI copies of all pleadings and other material
documents in relation to the proceeding.
3.5 Certificate and Payment of Claim. A certificate delivered pursuant to Section 3.4 shall be approved or disapproved in accordance with paragraph 5.1(c) and, if approved, paid in accordance with paragraphs 4.1(d), (e) and (f).
ARTICLE 4
DUTIES AND POWERS OF TRUSTEE
4.1 Trustee Duties.
(a) General Duty. To discharge the duties with respect to this
Trust solely in accordance with the terms and conditions of
this Trust Agreement for the purposes of indemnifying
Beneficiaries in accordance with the standards set out in
this Trust Agreement and paying directors and officers
liability insurance premiums.
(b) Establishment of Trust Fund. To establish a fund from which
to pay amounts described in (a). The Trustee shall deposit
in said fund all cash, cash equivalents such as certificates
of deposit and marketable government securities, and notes
contributed thereto by HBI.
(c) Investment. To invest and reinvest the trust funds only in
Authorized Investments. "Authorized Investments" shall
consist only of the following:
(i) Obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States
Government, including obligations issued by its
agencies or by its instrumentalities;
(ii) Obligations (such as time deposits, Euro dollar time
deposits, letters of credit, certificates of deposit,
and bankers' acceptances) of commercial banks, savings
banks and savings and loan institutions participating
in the FDIC or FSLIC and organized under and regulated
by the United States Government and/or the State of
Minnesota, including the Trustee itself, and provided
that total principal and accrued income invested in any
such obligation shall at no time exceed the insured
limit of such obligation;
(iii) Money market funds whose funds are solely invested in
obligations described in paragraph (i) or (ii) above;
(iv) In exercising its investment authority with respect to
the Authorized Investments listed above, the Trustee
shall consider safety of principal, ready marketability
and interest yields (in that order) and may make
purchases and sales of investments through its own bond
(d) Payment of Claims. To pay amounts from the Trust Fund,
consistent with the purposes stated in paragraph 1.1 as
follows: Upon receipt of a written notice of approval of a
claim by HBI or the arbitrator specified in Section 5.1(c)
of this Trust Agreement, the Trustee shall pay to the
Beneficiary from the Trust Fund the amount specified in the
written notice. In the event that the amount of cash held in
the Trust Fund is insufficient to make any payment required
pursuant to this Trust Agreement, the Trustee shall sell
investments in the Trust Fund so that the cash in the Trust
Fund is sufficient to make such payments.
(e) Notification of Insufficient Assets. If the Trustee is
instructed, in accordance with Section 4.1(d), to pay claims
and the assets in the Trust Fund are insufficient to pay all
of such claims, the Trustee shall immediately give written
notice to HBI and to the Beneficiary or Beneficiaries whose
claims are unpaid, of its inability to pay. HBI shall
respond to such notification in accordance with subparagraph
5.2(a).
(f) Priority of Claims. If the Trustee has two or more claims
and insufficient assets in the Trust Fund to satisfy all
claims, then the Trustee shall pay the claims according to
written instructions drafted by an authorized representative
of HBI, approved in accordance with the Consent procedures
described in Article 2. If no agreement is reached, the
priority of claims and division of funds in the Trust shall
be submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with the
Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration
Association, as then in effect, with instructions for the
arbitrator to make a decision based on the following
factors. First, the arbitrator shall determine if any
Beneficiary has significantly greater culpability for the
underlying loss and, if so, such Beneficiary's claim shall
be the first to be reduced. If there still is insufficient
assets or there is a determination that no beneficiary had
significantly greater culpability, the reduction shall be
pro rata in accordance with each of the remaining
Beneficiary's loss. The decision of the arbitrator shall be
binding and conclusive on the parties and HBI shall pay the
costs of the arbitration, not including the costs of counsel
for the Beneficiaries.
(g) Payment of Insurance Premiums. Provided HBI obtains Consent,
the Trustee shall pay directors and officers liability
insurance premiums to a commercial insurer selected by HBI
in accordance with instructions from an authorized
representative of HBI.
(h) Recordkeeping. The Trustee shall keep accurate records of
the operation of the Trust, including instructions to the
Trustee from HBI as to payments to be made from the Trust,
which shall be available for inspection during regular
business hours at the principal office of the Trustee by
authorized representatives of HBI or by any Beneficiary. The
Trustee shall not be responsible for keeping records of
claims information submitted by Beneficiaries; such records
shall be maintained by HBI, as provided in Section 5.1(d).
(i) Accounting. No later than 60 days after the end of each
calendar year (which is the fiscal year of the Trust and of
HBI) and after the end of each quarter therein, to forward a
financial statement to HBI stating the balance in the Trust
Fund at the beginning and end of the period, current period
contributions, investments and reinvestments, activities of
the Trust, the amount and nature of all payments including
final payments and those for claims management, legal
expenses, claims paid and the like, together with the Trust
Fund balance. The first financial statement will be for that
portion of the calendar quarter year extending from the date
of establishment of the Trust to the following March 31st.
The Trustee shall make such statements available for review
by any Beneficiary listed on Schedule A or a legal
representative thereof, upon advance written notice to the
Trustee and during the Trustee's regular business hours.
4.2 Trustee Powers.
(a) Exclusive Duties. The provisions of this Agreement set forth
exclusively the duties of the Trustee with respect to any
and all matters pertinent hereto and no implied duties or
obligations shall be read into this Trust Agreement against
the Trustee.
(b) Indemnity. The Trustee shall be indemnified and held
harmless by HBI against any and all costs, liabilities and
expenses (including expenses of litigation and counsel fees)
incurred by it with respect to payments made by reason of
any action or omission to act by the Trustee in good faith
under this Trust Agreement or otherwise incurred in good
faith by the Trustee, except such as arise from the
negligence or misconduct of the Trustee. The Trustee shall
be under no obligation to institute or defend any action,
suit or proceeding in connection with this Trust Agreement
unless first indemnified to its satisfaction. The Trustee
may consult counsel in respect of any question arising under
this Agreement and the Trustee shall not be liable for any
action taken or omitted in good faith upon advice of such
(c) Reliance. The Trustee may conclusively rely upon and be
protected in acting upon any statement, certificate, notice,
request, consent, order or other document believed by it to
be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the
proper party or parties.
(d) To Employ Agents and Attorneys. The Trustee may select and
employ or retain such agents or attorneys as the Trustee
from time to time may deem necessary or advisable in
connection with the management and operation of the Trust
herein created, and pay the reasonable fees, commissions, or
salaries incurred on account thereof as an expense of
administration of the Trust.
(e) Compensation. The Trustee shall receive an annual
administrative fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) plus
seven-tenths of one percent (.7%) of the Trust assets,
valued as of December 31 of each year. Said fees shall be
paid by HBI or if HBI fails to so pay, said fee shall be
chargeable to, and constitute a direct charge against, the
Trust Fund. Fee schedules are subject to annual review and
adjustment, reasonably acceptable to both parties.
ARTICLE 5
DUTIES AND POWERS OF HBI
5.1 HBI Duties.
(a) Funding. HBI shall, contemporaneously with the execution of
this Agreement and in accordance with the Assignment
(Exhibit B), transfer to the Trustee $200,000 in cash, cash
equivalents or securities, as the initial funding of the
Trust. HBI in its discretion may make additional periodic
contributions of cash, cash equivalents or securities to the
Trust. Each such contribution shall be accompanied by an
Assignment (Exhibit B).
(b) Notification of Potential Claims. HBI shall notify the
Trustee of any potential claims by Beneficiaries as soon as
it is aware of such potential claims.
(c) Approval and Certification of Claims. The Board of Directors
of HBI shall appoint (1) a member or committee of said Board
(not including any director making a claim) or (2) special
independent legal counsel, to approve and certify claims of
certifying Beneficiaries pursuant to the provisions of this
Trust Agreement. Written notice of approval or denial of
each claim shall be given to the Beneficiary within 30 days
of receipt of the claim. If such appointed representative
reje...
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