Directors and officers liability insurance pricing remained flat during the second quarter of 2013, and the outlook is for more of the same, says Aon Risk Solutions in a report.

There was no overall difference in pricing between the comparable second quarters for this year and 2012, according to the Quarterly Pricing Index issued Thursday by Aon Risk Solutions, a unit of Aon P.L.C.

However, looking at programs that renewed in both this year's and last year's second quarters, there was a 1.1% increase, according to the report. A total of 94% of primary policy premiums were either flat or increased.

There were differences among layers, according to the report. Primary policies that renewed in both this year's and last year's second quarter experienced a price per million dollars of coverage increase of 8.3% on average.

“Remembering that D&O programs are most often built on layered basis, basic math would indicate that excess pricing is decreasing just enough to compensate for the increase in primary pricing, resulting in the average total program renewing essentially flat,” says the report.

Observers have reported that excess layers remain competitive.

Aon clients purchased an average of 3.3% more in limits than the previous year's renewal, according to the report. Of those companies that were in both samples for second quarter 2012 and 2013, 17.2% purchased higher limits than in the prior year.

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“This continues to illustrate the point that companies are still focused on limits adequacy,” the report says.

“We have a stable outlook on the future of D&O rates,” says the report. “The environment will continue to be account specific, but on a macro basis we believe that the surplus of excess capacity will continue to make for a stable overall environment.

“We do, however, believe that primary D&O pricing will continue to be relatively stable … but companies with specific underwriting challenge should expect a more difficult pricing environment that that of all other companies as the carriers continue to differentiate risk.”

Copies of the report, which is based on Aon’s financial services group’s proprietary policy data, are available here.