Despite the credit crisis, most financial institutions still can obtain directors and officers liability coverage, albeit at somewhat higher rates in today's hardening market.

But underwriters should be willing to drill down into the specifics of each organization.

This was among the topics discussed at a session on financial institutions during the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's 2013 D&O Symposium in New York on Wednesday.

These insureds probably will not have less favorable terms and conditions, either, said Sanford F. Crystal, executive vice president of brokerage Crystal & Co. in New York. Even the firms with poor histories will still be able to obtain coverage, he said, adding there will not be a repeat of the situation seen during the 1980s liability shortage.

The “craft of underwriting needs to be brought back” into the market, said Laurie E. Banez, senior vice president and chief underwriting officer for Argo Pro in Jersey City, N.J., a unit of Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.

Jack Flug, New York-based managing director at Marsh Inc.'s FINPRO unit, said banks, for instance, can be separated into large, small and community banks. “Each one requires their own specialization,” he said.

You must drill down into each segment of the industry in deciding what to underwrite, said Ms. Banez.

Presenting your client to underwriters is an educational process, said Mr. Flug. “If you can't understand the intricacies of that client, you can't do it well,” he said. If it is a tough class of business, “you must be open and honest to underwriters.” They will disagree with you initially, but that is OK, because that will encourage a dialogue that will lead to a resolution.

The more information you can provide, the more comfortable the underwriter will be with the risk, said Ms. Banez.

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Clients also should be prepared, said the speakers. You “must go through a variety of scenarios,” said Mr. Flug. “It's a difficult discussion, because if things go off the rail, the first one blamed is the broker.”

Paul Ferrillo, litigation counsel with law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges L.L.P. in New York, said one problem is that brokers do not have direct access to the company's general counsel or CEO.

He also said more sophisticated clients are willing to pay more for their D&O insurance in a hardening market, because they know their claims will be paid.

Discussing the possibility of alternative coverage, Mr. Flug said a captive is probably easier to use than forming a risk retention group. These days, people are cautious about getting together with others in the same industry in a risk retention group for competitive reasons and because they do not want others to see their “warts,” he said. “Captives are easier at this point,” he said.

Speakers also discussed the lessons learned from the credit crises. Mr. Ferrillo said a major lesson learned was companies had no business being involved in an investment if they did not understand it. “Lots of times, companies didn’t understand what they were doing” in terms of risk, he said.

You can write and identify guidelines, said Mr. Crystal, but the problems resulted from people not following them.

Moderating the session was Kevin LaCroix, an attorney and executive vice president of RT ProExec, a division of R-T Specialty L.L.C. in Beachwood, Ohio.