F. Joseph Warin, head of the FCPA team at law firm Gibson Dunn, notes that as electronic communication proliferates, the cost of searching through all those emails can be high.

Rob Yellen, chief underwriting officer for the executive liability unit of insurer Chartis, says companies may not have done anything wrong. "Enforcement authorities have the right to ask for information and when they do, there's a cost involved in doing the homework to get them the answer," he says.

Earlier this year, Chartis launched a policy called Investigation Edge that covers legal expenses and discovery costs resulting from investigations by authorities; it can be extended via endorsement to include FCPA investigations.

The government is estimated to be investigating more than 150 companies for FCPA violations.

Ann Longmore, product manager for D&O in the executive risk group at Willis, notes news of an FCPA investigation often triggers other lawsuits against a company, like stock drop or derivative claims. Given that, "it's a good thing not to exhaust the D&O cover paying investigative costs in the early stages," she says.

But Longmore argues that the policies to insure against FCPA investigative costs are too expensive. "That's the sticky wicket right now," she says. "Carriers want more for it than companies are willing to pay."

For an earlier look at the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, see Hunting Foreign Bribes.