Help

BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.

To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.

To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.

Login Register Subscribe

D&O liability premium rates will continue to fall: Fitch

Reprints
D&O liability premium rates will continue to fall: Fitch

Directors & officers liability insurance premium rates will continue to decline this year, says Fitch Ratings, in a brief report issued Friday.

Although poorer overall U.S. property/casualty industry results and large catastrophe-related losses in property lines are likely to lead to pricing increases for several individual market segments this year, D&O market pricing “is likely less affected by these broader market circumstances,” says the report.

The report noted there are “cautionary signs on several fronts” for the market, led by a growing preponderance of securities class action lawsuits. 

Public company executives’ liability exposure continues to evolve, said the report, with courts showing a greater inclination to hold individuals accountable for corporate crimes, following the 2015 Yates memorandum. The memo by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates stresses individual responsibility in corporate wrongdoing.

The report says, “D&O underwriters are typically larger, multiline insurers that can absorb or offset potential large losses with results from other segments.

“As such, the likelihood that the risks from the D&O segment will individually drive insurer ratings are limited outside of extreme crisis periods and events. Additionally, some pricing risks could be mitigated should M&A activity influence market competition.” 

 

.

 

 

 

 

Read Next