Financial Lines – Directors’ & Officers’ insurance (D&O)
Directors today face increasing personal liability from regulatory, legal, and reputational risks. Without the right cover, even routine decisions can lead to costly claims.
Canopius provides directors and officers liability insurance designed to protect your leadership team — so they can lead with confidence.
What is Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) insurance?
D&O insurance protects Directors, Officers, and senior managers against claims made for alleged wrongful acts carried out in the course of their duties.
These claims may involve:
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Negligence or mismanagement
- Misleading statements or omissions
- Regulatory investigations
- Employment-related claims
This type of cover ensures your Directors and Officers are supported if they face legal action while acting in a management capacity.
Why businesses need D&O insurance
Whether you’re a growing SME or a publicly-listed company, D&O insurance is essential. Directors and Officers can be held personally liable for decisions made on behalf of the company.
Directors and Officers are exposed to:
- Costly legal defence costs
- Claims for civil damages, and resulting settlements
- Disqualification proceedings
- Investigations by regulators
- Reputational damage
- Personal asset risk
D&O insurance coverage
- Defence costs in respect of civil, criminal, or regulatory actions?
- Legal representation costs in respect of any official investigation, or examination into the affairs of the company, or the Directors
- Damages, and financial settlements
- Claims from shareholders, investors, employees, or regulators
- Climate disclosure investigation costs
- Emergency costs cover
- Personal liability for corporate taxes
- Outside board coverage
- Extradition costs (prosecution costs) and costs of defending Director disqualification proceedings
- Costs of defending Health & Safety prosecutions, or Corporate Manslaughter proceedings
- Spousal, or civil partnership cover
- Retired Directors cover
- Public relations consultancy costs for specified events
- Prior and pending claims, or any claim made, or intimated prior to the inception date of the policy
- Fraud & dishonesty (if determined by a court of final adjudication)
- Criminal fines and penalties
- Pollution (clean-up costs)
- Claims for bodily injury or property damage
- Liability as a pension trustee
Canopius provides D&O insurance for a wide range of businesses across the UK and US.
- Public and private companies
- Financial institutions and firms engaged in regulated activities
- Small to medium enterprises
- Not-for-profit entities
As part of our broader financial lines offering, we provide comprehensive D&O coverage incorporating the following:
- Side A – protects individual Directors and Officers when the company is unable to legally indemnify them
- Side B – reimburses the company when it is legally permitted to indemnify its Directors and Officers
- Side C – covers the company for securities-related claims
A D&O policy can be extended to include the following enhancements:
- Employment practice liability cover for the company
- Extended reporting periods in the event that the company is merged with, or acquired by, another company
Speak to one of our specialist underwriters
