Directors and officers pricing slides 9.2%

Overall pricing for directors and officers insurance among publicly traded U.S. companies dropped 9.2% during the first quarter of this year, Aon Risk Solutions said Friday.

The 9.2% decline for $1 million in limits “represents the 11th consecutive quarter of year-over-year price decreases,” the Aon P.L.C. unit said in its “Quarterly D&O Pricing Index.” “There have been only two quarterly price increases in the past 17 quarters.”

For publicly traded companies that renewed their primary D&O coverage during the quarter with the same limit and deductible, 44% saw their prices fall, 37% renewed with rates that were flat and 19% had an increase. Aon said the overall price decline for primary D&O cover renewing during the first quarter was 2.1%. It said 88.9% of companies renewed their coverage with the same limits and deductibles.

Only 4.4% of publicly traded companies changed their insurer during the period, Aon said in the analysis.