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ARTICLE · 13 NOVEMBER 2008

D&O In The Spotlight

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The upheaval over the last few weeks in the financial markets has again placed Directors & Officers ("D&O") insurance in the spotlight.

United KingdomInsurance
Costas Frangeskides
Costas Frangeskides
Graham Denny
Graham Denny

The upheaval over the last few weeks in the financial markets has again placed Directors & Officers ("D&O") insurance in the spotlight. With the move towards a climate of increased regulation globally, exposures for directors, and the companies by which they are employed, has increased greatly. In the UK such additional exposures have followed the enactment of legislation such as the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Companies (Audit, Investigation and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, the Companies Act 2006 and more recently the Corporate Manslaughter, Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

D&O cover, of course, protects a director or officer (and the company) against those potentially significant liabilities which may arise from their actions. Such cover is also important to attract high calibre personnel who may otherwise be wary of taking such positions, particularly for large multi-national companies exposed to

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