Board Disclosure Obligations and Institutional Concealment of Misconduct

A healthcare foundation headquartered in Bridgeport, Newfoundland and Labrador, maintained a comprehensive general liability policy from October 1980 through October 1985, with an endorsement extending bodily injury coverage to community outreach workers. The foundation's governance structure included an Insurance Committee comprising 4 lay insurance professionals and 2 of the 3 Board of Administration members.

As early as 1975, senior administrators including a Board member knew of sexual abuse allegations against at least 6 outreach workers. No disclosure was made to the insurer or child welfare authorities. When survivors' claims emerged decades later—eventually numbering in the hundreds—the insurer sought to void the policy for non-disclosure of material facts. The foundation's own expert conceded that a prudent underwriter, if informed, would not have issued the outreach worker endorsement. The question now facing the Board: what disclosure obligations did governance structures create, and what accountability flows from their failure?

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