DIRECTOR INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
DIRECTOR INDEMNIFICATION
AGREEMENT (this "
Agreement ") dated as of December 4, 2006, by and between
Direct General Corporation (the " Company "), a Tennessee
corporation, and ____________________ (" Indemnitee
"):
WHEREAS , the Indemnitee is provided indemnification
pursuant to the Tennessee Business Corporation Act and the Charter
and Bylaws of the Company;
WHEREAS , the Board of Directors of the Company (the "
Board ") has authorized entering into a Director
Indemnification Agreement with each of the members of the Board;
and
WHEREAS , it is reasonable and prudent for the Company
contractually to obligate itself to indemnify each member of the
Board;
NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the premises, the mutual
agreements herein set forth below and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
1.
Services by Indemnitee; Notice of
Proceeding.
(a)
Services . Indemnitee may at any time and for any
reason resign from the Board or any permanent or temporary
committee thereof.
(b)
Notice of Proceeding
. Indemnitee shall
promptly notify the Company in writing upon being served with any
summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information or
other document relating to any Proceeding or matter that may be
subject to indemnification or advancement of Expenses (as defined
below) covered by this Agreement.
(a)
General . The Company shall indemnify and advance
Expenses to Indemnitee in connection with any action, suit,
arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation,
administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed
proceeding whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, direct or derivative, other than one initiated
directly by Indemnitee, and which arises out of or is related to
service by Indemnitee as a member of the Board or any permanent or
temporary committee thereof and to which Indemnitee is or is
threatened to be made a party (a " Proceeding "). "
Expenses " shall mean all reasonable attorneys' fees,
retainers, court costs, transcript costs, fees of experts, witness
fees, reasonable and necessary travel expenses, duplicating costs,
printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery
service fees, and all other disbursements or expenses of the types
customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending,
preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, being or preparing
to be a witness in a Proceeding, for which reasonable and
appropriate documentation is presented to the Company in accordance
with the Company's standard policies and procedures for submission
and reimbursement of business expenses.
(b)
Proceedings
. Subject to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, the Company shall indemnify
Indemnitee against Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and
amounts paid in settlements actually and reasonably incurred by
Indemnitee or on Indemnitee's behalf in connection with such
Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein. The Company may
through counsel of its choosing participate with Indemnitee in the
defense in a claim in any Proceeding. If the Company elects to
participate with Indemnitee in the defense a claim, the Company
shall be responsible for the costs of its legal counsel. Indemnitee
shall not agree to or enter into any settlement or consent decree
with respect to any claim without providing the Company with prior
written notice.
(c)
Indemnification for Expenses As a
Witness . To the
extent that Indemnitee is a witness in any Proceeding, Indemnitee
shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably
incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee's behalf in connection
therewith.
3.
Advancement of
Expenses . The
Company shall advance all reasonable Expenses which were incurred
by or on behalf of Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding
within 30 days after the receipt by the Company of a statement from
Indemnitee requesting such advance, provided the statement is
accompanied by appropriate documentation of such Expenses in
accordance with the Company's usual policies for reimbursement of
business expenses. An advance may be requested at any time prior
to, during or after final disposition of such
Proceeding.
4.
Entitlement to
Indemnification .
(a)
Request . To obtain indemnification under this
Agreement, Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a written request
for indemnification, including such information as is reasonably
available to Indemnitee to demonstrate that Indemnitee is entitled
to indemnification, and including invoices or other appropriate
support for the amount claimed in accordance with the Company's
standard policies for of reimbursement of business
expenses.
(b)
Payment . Unless the procedures set forth in
Section 6 of this Agreement are invoked by the Company or
unless Indemnitee shall permit the Company to defer payment,
payment to Indemnitee shall be made within 30 days after receipt of
such written request and invoices or other support as provided in
Section 4(a), above.
5.
Presumptions and Effect of
Certain Proceedings .
(a)
Burden of Proof
. In making a determination
with respect to entitlement to Indemnification hereunder, the
person or persons or entity making such determination shall presume
that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement
if Indemnitee has submitted a request for indemnification in
accordance with Section 4(a) of this Agreement, and the
Company shall have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption
in connection with the making by any person, persons or entity of
any determination contrary to that presumption.
(b)
Effect of Other
Proceedings . The
termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter
therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a
plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not
(except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, the
Tennessee Business Corporation Act, as such may be amended from
time to time, or by the Charter or Bylaws of the Company in effect
on the date of this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right
of Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that
Indemnitee did not act in good faith or violated the duty of
loyalty.
(c)
Reliance as Safe
Harbor . For
purposes of any determination of good faith by the Company under
the Tennessee Business Corporation Act, Indemnitee shall be deemed
to have acted in good faith if Indemnitee's action is based on the
records or books of account of the Company, including financial
statements, or on information supplied to Indemnitee by the
officers of the Company in the course of their duties, or on the
advice of legal counsel for the Company, the Board or any permanent
or temporary committee thereof or on information or records given
or reports made to the Company, the Board or any permanent or
temporary committee thereof by an independent certified public
accountant, investment banker or other expert selected with
reasonable care by the Company, the Board or any permanent or
temporary committee thereof. The provisions of this
Section 5(c) shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit
in any way the other circumstances in which the Indemnitee may be
deemed to have met the applicable standard of conduct set forth
under applicable law.
(d) Actions
of Others . The knowledge and/or actions, or
failure to act, of any director, officer, agent or employee of the
Company shall not be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of
determining the right to indemnification under this
Agreement.
6.
Remedies of Indemnitee
.
(a)
Method of
Determination . If
the Company determines not to honor a written request for
indemnification, it shall notify Indemnitee within 30 days of
receipt of such request (a "Denial Notice"). Within 30 days of
delivery of a Denial Notice to Indemnitee, Indemnitee may appeal
the denial of indemnity by delivery of written notice (a "Denial
Appeal") to the Company invoking its right to have an Independent
Counsel consider its right to the indemnification requested.
"Independent Counsel" shall mean a law firm, or a member of a law
firm, that is experienced in matters of Tennessee corporation law
and neither presently is, nor in the past five years has been,
retained to represent: (i) the Company or Indemnitee in any matter
material to either such party or (ii) any other party to the
Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term "Independent Counsel" shall
not include any person who, under the applicable standards of
professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of
interest in representing either the Company or Indemnitee in an
action to determine Indemnitee's rights under this Agreement. The
Independent Counsel shall represent the Board of Directors of the
Company and shall be engaged to make a fair, disinterested
evaluation of the Indemnitee'