Back to top

ACE LIMITED 2004 LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN

Executive Compensation Plan Agreement

ACE LIMITED 2004 LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN | Document Parties: ACE LTD You are currently viewing:
This Executive Compensation Plan Agreement involves

ACE LTD

. RealDealDocs™ contains millions of easily searchable legal documents and clauses from top law firms. Search for free - click here.
Title: ACE LIMITED 2004 LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
Date: 7/16/2008
Industry: Insurance (Prop. and Casualty)     Sector: Financial

ACE LIMITED 2004 LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN, Parties: ace ltd
50 of the Top 250 law firms use our Products every day

Exhibit 10.2

ACE LIMITED 2004 LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PLAN (As amended through the Fourth Amendment)

SECTION 1

GENERAL

1.1. Purpose . The ACE Limited 2004 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) has been established by ACE Limited (the “Company”) to (i) attract and retain persons eligible to participate in the Plan; (ii) motivate Participants, by means of appropriate incentives, to achieve long-range goals; (iii) provide incentive compensation opportunities that are competitive with those of other similar companies; and (iv) further identify Participants’ interests with those of the Company’s other shareholders through compensation that is based on the Company’s ordinary shares of stock; and thereby promote the long-term financial interest of the Company and the Subsidiaries, including the growth in value of the Company’s equity and enhancement of long-term shareholder return.

1.2. Participation . Subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, the Committee shall determine and designate, from time to time, from among the Eligible Individuals (including transferees of Eligible Individuals to the extent the transfer is permitted by the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement), those persons who will be granted one or more Awards under the Plan, and thereby become “Participants” in the Plan.

1.3. Operation, Administration, and Definitions . The operation and administration of the Plan, including the Awards made under the Plan, shall be subject to the provisions of Section 5 (relating to operation and administration). Capitalized terms in the Plan shall be defined as set forth in the Plan (including the definition provisions of Section 9).

SECTION 2

OPTIONS AND SARS

2.1. Definitions .

 

  (a) The grant of an “Option” entitles the Participant to purchase shares of Stock at an Exercise Price established by the Committee. Any Option granted under this Section 2 may be either an incentive stock option (an “ISO”) or a non-qualified option (an “NQO”), as determined in the discretion of the Committee. An “ISO” is an Option that is intended to satisfy the requirements applicable to an “incentive stock option” described in section 422(b) of the Code. An “NQO” is an Option that is not intended to be an “incentive stock option” as that term is described in section 422(b) of the Code.

 

  (b) A stock appreciation right (an “SAR”) entitles the Participant to receive, in cash or Stock (as determined in accordance with subsection 2.5), value equal to (or otherwise based on) the excess of: (a) the Fair Market Value of a specified number of shares of Stock at the time of exercise; over (b) an Exercise Price established by the Committee.

2.2. Exercise Price . The “Exercise Price” of each Option and SAR granted under this Section 2 shall be established by the Committee or shall be determined by a method established by the Committee at the time the Option or SAR is granted. The Exercise Price shall not be less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Stock on the date of grant (or, if greater, the par value of a share of Stock).

2.3. Exercise . An Option and an SAR shall be exercisable in accordance with such terms and conditions and during such periods as may be established by the Committee. In no event, however, shall an Option or SAR expire later than ten years after the date of its grant.

 

1

 


2.4. Payment of Option Exercise Price . The payment of the Exercise Price of an Option granted under this Section 2 shall be subject to the following:

 

  (a) Subject to the following provisions of this subsection 2.4, the full Exercise Price for shares of Stock purchased upon the exercise of any Option shall be paid at the time of such exercise (except that, in the case of an exercise arrangement approved by the Committee and described in paragraph 2.4(c), payment may be made as soon as practicable after the exercise).

 

  (b) Subject to applicable law, the Exercise Price shall be payable in cash, by promissory note, or by tendering, by either actual delivery of shares or by attestation, shares of Stock acceptable to the Committee, and valued at Fair Market Value as of the day of exercise, or in any combination thereof, as determined by the Committee.

 

  (c) Subject to applicable law, the Committee may permit a Participant to elect to pay the Exercise Price upon the exercise of an Option by irrevocably authorizing a third party to sell shares of Stock (or a sufficient portion of the shares) acquired upon exercise of the Option and remit to the Company a sufficient portion of the sale proceeds to pay the entire Exercise Price and any tax withholding resulting from such exercise.

2.5. Settlement of Award . Settlement of Options and SARs is subject to subsection 5.7.

2.6. No Repricing . Except for either adjustments pursuant to paragraph 5.2(f) (relating to the adjustment of shares), or reductions of the Exercise Price approved by the Company’s shareholders, the Exercise Price for any outstanding Option or SAR may not be decreased after the date of grant nor may an outstanding Option or SAR granted under the Plan be surrendered to the Company as consideration for the grant of a replacement Option or SAR with a lower Exercise Price.

2.7. Grants of Options and SARs . An Option may but need not be in tandem with an SAR, and an SAR may but need not be in tandem with an Option. If an Option is in tandem with an SAR, the Exercise Price of both the Option and SAR shall be the same, and the exercise of the Option or SAR with respect to a share of Stock shall cancel the corresponding tandem SAR or Option right with respect to such share. If an SAR is in tandem with an Option but is granted after the grant of the Option, or if an Option is in tandem with an SAR but is granted after the grant of the SAR, the later granted tandem Award shall have the same Exercise Price as the earlier granted Award, but the Exercise Price for the later granted Award may be less than the Fair Market Value of the Stock at the time of such grant.

SECTION 3

FULL VALUE AWARDS

3.1. Definition . A “Full Value” Award is a grant of one or more shares of Stock or a right to receive one or more shares of Stock in the future, with such grant subject to one or more of the following, as determined by the Committee:

 

  (a) The grant shall be in consideration of a Participant’s previously performed services, or surrender of other compensation that may be due.

 

  (b) The grant shall be contingent on the achievement of performance or other objectives during a specified period.

 

  (c) The grant shall be subject to a risk of forfeiture or other restrictions that will lapse upon the achievement of one or more goals relating to completion of service by the Participant, or achievement of performance or other objectives.

The grant of Full Value Awards may also be subject to such other conditions, restrictions and contingencies, as determined by the Committee.

 

2

 


3.2. Restrictions on Awards .

 

  (a) The Committee may designate a Full Value Award granted to any Participant as “performance-based compensation” as that term is used in section 162(m) of the Code. To the extent required by Code section 162(m), any Full Value Award so designated shall be conditioned on the achievement of one or more performance objectives. The performance objectives shall be based on Performance Measures selected by the Committee. For Awards under this Section 3 intended to be “performance-based compensation,” the grant of the Awards and the establishment of the performance objectives shall be made during the period required under Code section 162(m).

 

  (b) If the right to become vested in a Full Value Award is conditioned on the completion of a specified period of service with the Company or the Subsidiaries, without achievement of Performance Measures or other performance objectives (whether or not related to the Performance Measures) being required as a condition of vesting, and without it being granted in lieu of other compensation, then the required period of service for full vesting shall be not less than three years (subject to acceleration of vesting, to the extent permitted by the Committee, in the event of the Participant’s death, disability, retirement, change in control or involuntary termination).

SECTION 4

CASH INCENTIVE AWARDS

A Cash Incentive Award is the grant of a right to receive a payment of cash (or in the discretion of the Committee, Stock having value equivalent to the cash otherwise payable) that is contingent on achievement of performance or other objectives over a specified period established by the Committee. The grant of Cash Incentive Awards may also be subject to such other conditions, restrictions and contingencies, as determined by the Committee. The Committee may designate a Cash Incentive Award granted to any Participant as “performance-based compensation” as that term is used in section 162(m) of the Code. To the extent required by Code section 162(m), any such Award so designated shall be conditioned on the achievement of one or more performance objectives. The performance objectives shall be based on Performance Measures as selected by the Committee. For Awards under this Section 4 intended to be “performance-based compensation,” the grant of the Awards and the establishment of the performance objectives shall be made during the period required under Code section 162(m). Except as otherwise provided in the applicable plan or arrangement, distribution of any cash incentive awards by the Company or its Subsidiaries (whether granted this Plan or otherwise), for a performance period ending in a calendar year, shall be made to the Participant not later than March 15 of the following calendar year; provided, however, that for purposes of determining compliance with Code section 409A, a payment will be considered to satisfy the requirement of this sentence if distribution is made no later than the end of the calendar year following the end of the applicable performance period.

SECTION 5

OPERATION AND ADMINISTRATION

5.1. Effective Date . Subject to the approval of the shareholders of the Company at the Company’s 2004 annual meeting of its shareholders, the Plan shall be effective as of February 25, 2004 (the “Effective Date”); provided, however, that, to the extent not prohibited by applicable law or the applicable rules of any stock exchange, Awards may be granted contingent on approval of the Plan by the shareholders of the Company at such annual meeting. The Plan shall be unlimited in duration and, in the event of Plan termination, shall remain in effect as long as any Awards under it are outstanding; provided, however, that no Awards may be granted under the Plan on or after the ten-year anniversary of July 10, 2008, which is the date on which the Plan was amended by the Fourth Amendment.

 

3

 


5.2. Shares and Other Amounts Subject to Plan . The shares of Stock for which Awards may be granted under the Plan shall be subject to the following:

 

  (a) The shares of Stock with respect to which Awards may be made under the Plan shall be (i) shares currently authorized but unissued; (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, currently held or acquired by the Company as treasury shares, including shares purchased in the open market or in private transactions; or (iii) shares purchased in the open market by a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (as determined by the Chairman, the Chief Executive Officer or any executive officer of the Company). The Company may contribute to the subsidiary an amount sufficient to accomplish the purchase in the open market of the shares of Stock to be so acquired (as determined by the Chairman, the Chief Executive Officer or any executive officer of the Company).

 

  (b) Subject to the following provisions of this subsection 5.2, the maximum number of shares of Stock that may be delivered to Participants and their beneficiaries under the Plan shall be equal to the sum of: (i) 19,000,000 shares of Stock (which number includes all shares available for delivery under this clause (i) since the establishment of the Plan in 2004, determined in accordance with the terms of the Plan); and (ii) any shares of Stock that are represented by awards granted under the ACE Limited 1995 Long-Term Incentive Plan, the ACE Limited 1995 Outside Directors Plan, the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan, and the ACE Limited 1999 Replacement Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plans”) that are forfeited, expire or are canceled after the Effective Date without delivery of shares of Stock or which result in the forfeiture of the shares of Stock back to the Company to the extent that such shares would have been added back to the reserve under the terms of the applicable Prior Plan.

 

  (c) To the extent provided by the Committee, any Award may be settled in cash rather than Stock.

 

  (d) Shares of Stock with respect to an Award will be treated as delivered for purposes of the determination under paragraph (b) above, subject to the following:

 

  (i) To the extent any shares of Stock covered by an Award are not delivered to a Participant or beneficiary because the Award is forfeited or canceled, such shares shall not be deemed to have been delivered for purposes of the determination under paragraph (b) above.

 

  (ii) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (i) above, the total number of shares covered by an Award granted after July 10, 2008 will be treated as delivered for purposes of this paragraph (b) to the extent payments or benefits are delivered to the Participant with respect to such shares. Accordingly (A) if an Award denominated in shares of Stock is settled in cash, the total number of shares with respect to which such payment is made shall be considered to have been delivered; (B) if shares covered by an Award are used to satisfy the applicable tax withholding obligation, the number of shares held back by the Company to satisfy such withholding obligation shall be considered to have been delivered; (C) if the exercise price of any Option granted under the Plan is satisfied by tendering shares of Stock to the Company (by either actual delivery or by attestation), the number of shares tendered to satisfy such exercise price shall be considered to have been delivered; and (D) if cash or shares of Stock are delivered in settlement of the exercise of an SAR, the total number of shares with respect to which such SAR is exercised shall be deemed delivered.

 

  (e) Subject to paragraph 5.2(f), the following additional maximums are imposed under the Plan.

 

  (i) The maximum number of shares of Stock that may be delivered to Participants and their beneficiaries with respect to ISOs granted under the Plan shall be 19,000,000 shares; provided, however, that to the extent that shares not delivered must be counted against this limit as a condition of satisfying the rules applicable to ISOs, such rules shall apply to the limit on ISOs granted under the Plan.

 

4

 


  (ii) The maximum number of shares that may be covered by Awards granted to any one Participant during any one calendar-year period pursuant to Section 2 (relating to Options and SARs) shall be 1,000,000 shares. For purposes of this paragraph (ii), if an Option is in tandem with an SAR, such that the exercise of the Option or SAR with respect to a share of Stock cancels the tandem SAR or Option right, respectively, with respect to such share, the tandem Option and SAR rights with respect to each share of Stock shall be counted as covering but one share of Stock for purposes of applying the limitations of this paragraph (ii).

 

  (iii) The maximum number of shares of Stock that may be issued in conjunction with Awards granted pursuant to Section 3 (relating to Full Value Awards) shall be 11,000,000 shares.

 

  (iv) For Full Value Awards that are intended to be “performance-based compensation” (as that term is used for purposes of Code section 162(m)), no more than 500,000 shares of Stock may be delivered pursuant to such Awards granted to any Participant during any one-calendar-year period; provided that Awards described in this paragraph (iv), that are intended to be performance-based compensation, shall be subject to the following:

 

  (A) If the Awards are denominated in Stock but an equivalent amount of cash is delivered in lieu of delivery of shares of Stock, the foregoing limit shall be applied based on the methodology used by the Committee to convert the number of shares of Stock into cash.

 

  (B) If delivery of Stock or cash is deferred until after shares of Stock have been earned, any adjustment in the amount delivered to reflect actual or deemed investment experience after the date the shares are earned shall be disregarded.

 

  (v) For Cash Incentive Value Awards that are intended to be “performance-based compensation” (as that term is used for purposes of Code section 162(m)), the maximum amount payable to any Participant with respect to a performance period shall equal $500,000 multiplied by the number of calendar months included in that performance period; provided that Awards described in this paragraph (v), that are intended to be performance-based compensation, shall be subject to the following:

 

  (A) If the Awards are denominated in cash but an equivalent amount of Stock is delivered in lieu of delivery of cash, the foregoing limit shall be applied to the cash based on the methodology used by the Committee to convert the cash into shares of Stock.

 

  (B) If delivery of Stock or cash is deferred until after cash has been earned, any adjustment in the amount delivered to reflect actual or deemed investment experience after the date the cash is earned shall be disregarded.

 

  (f) The following shall apply with respect to the terms of the Plan and Awards granted thereunder:

 

  (i) Notwithstanding the following provisions of this paragraph (f), in the event of any equity restructuring (within the meaning of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004)) that causes the per share value of shares of Stock to change, such as a stock dividend, stock split, spin off, rights offering, or recapitalization through a large, nonrecurring cash dividend, the Committee shall cause there to be made an equitable adjustment to (A) the number and kind of shares available for grant under the Plan, (B) the number of shares or Awards that may be granted to any individual under the Plan or that may be granted pursuant to any provision or types of Awards and (C) the number and kind of shares or units subject to and the Exercise Price of an Option or SAR of any then outstanding Awards of or related to shares of Stock.

 

  (ii) In the event of any change in corporate capitalization (other than as described in paragraph (i) above), such as a merger, consolida

 
SITE SEARCH

AGREEMENTS / CONTRACTS

Document Title:

Entire Document: (optional)

Governing Law:(optional)


Try our advanced search >>
 

CLAUSES

Search Contract Clauses >>

Browse Contract Clause Library>>

Get Email Updates
Email:
This is only a partial view of this document. We have millions of legal documents and clauses drafted by top law firms. learn more search for free browse for free learn more