Directors' and Officers' insurance (D&O)

D&O Liability insurance

If things go wrong in a business, the senior managers, including directors, officers and partners, are at risk of claims being made against them.

Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) insurance and Management Liability insurance can help protect these individuals against the resulting financial costs, such as fines and legal fees.

What does Directors’ and Officers’ insurance cover?

Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) Liability insurance gives financial protection in the event you are sued personally. D&O protects you against claims made against you or your co-directors within the scope of your everyday business. It is there to cover you for legal costs as well as any damages. D&O insurance covers directors' acts and the cover should extend to those individuals that are subject to regulatory approvals (such as the Senior Managers regime), the Data Protection Officer, General Counsel, Risk Manager and other senior individuals (including employees in managerial capacities).

What does good D&O insurance look like? 

D&O insurance is there to pay for costs relating to mounting a defence, and any damages or settlements relating to the matter. Any allegation made by a third party against a director or officer, no matter how frivolous, needs to be vigorously defended, otherwise, there is a risk of judgement being entered in default of a defence. 

  • Entity cover for employment practices liability claims
  • Official investigations 
  • Crisis management
  • Entity cover for securities claims (for listed companies)
  • Retired directors


Other areas that give rise to claims include:

  • Positions on outside boards 
  • Wrongful termination, sexual harassment or discrimination 
  • Initial public offerings 

Directors and officers can be held liable for their own actions and inactions – and the actions of their co-directors.  Directors’ personal liability for the performance of a company is unlimited. If the shareholders want to sue for mismanagement, they can, and do, quite frequently. 
 

Howden's Special Situations team:

Howden’s Special Situations team is made up of experts across the business who have come together to provide a complete offering to clients needing distressed risk solutions.

We are both sector and product agnostic. We draw on experience from legal, accounting, banking and insurance backgrounds and combine that with our broad market access and traditional product expertise. This allows us to partner a boutique advisory approach with the leverage of a global insurance group, placing over $14.5bn in premium annually.

Table

Meet the team

Photo of Kurt Rothmann

Kurt

Kurt Rothmann

Executive Director
Photo of Kurt Rothmann

Kurt Rothmann

Executive Director

Kurt joined Howden in November 2020 after spending 8 years at JLT. He has worked with many large and complex multinational clients providing strategic advice, programme design and service delivery. Kurt has 27 years of insurance industry experience, including 7 years in Johannesburg before moving to London in 1999. At both JLT (and Aon before that) he headed up the management liability team. Prior to his career in insurance, he studied law at the University of Cape Town, graduating with a BA LLB. After being admitted to practice as a solicitor in South Africa, he moved to work in-house with one of the then largest South African insurance intermediaries, Glenrand MIB.

Photo of Lianne Gras

Lianne

Lianne Gras

Executive Director
Photo of Lianne Gras

Lianne Gras

Executive Director

Lianne has spent most of her career at Howden and has over 20 years’ experience placing International bespoke risks into the London and global insurance markets. Although experienced across all classes of financial lines she brings particular expertise in delivering highly complex and tailored solutions within the Directors and Officers class. She works with multinational organisations and large government institutions navigating rapidly-evolving exposures across highly-regulated sectors. A particular specialism for those organisations with US exposure be that foreign issuers to US exchanges, IPO’s or reverse merger / despac transactions.

Photo of Adam Swinburne

Adam

Adam Swinburne

Divisional Director
Photo of Adam Swinburne

Adam Swinburne

Divisional Director

With over 26 years' worth of experience, Adam specialises in handling and placing Directors’ and Officers’ Liability, Crime, Financial Institutions Professional Indemnity and Investment Management Insurance in the UK, EEA and Australia. Adam helps a range of of large corporate and SME clients in sectors such as accountants, solicitors, financial advisers, property valuers, property management, investment platforms and investment managers.

Photo of Michelle Allen

Michelle

Michelle Allen

Divisional Director
Photo of Michelle Allen

Michelle Allen

Divisional Director

Michelle joined Howden in 1999 and has over 22 years’ experience in Financial Lines, specialising in Directors’ and Officers’ Liability policies. She has extensive experience with both international and UK clients working on large and complex placement structures. Michelle’s role includes responsibility for client service within the International division of FLG overseeing a team of 15+ Account Executives. She also works with FLG’s Legal & Technical team on the drafting of Howden’s flagship D&O products, provides technical resource both internally and to clients and contributes regularly to FLG’s Thought Leadership output.

Contact our D&O team today

Let's talk...

+44 (0)20 7623 3806

We'll put you in touch with the person best equipped to help.

Do you have an existing policy with Howden?

Got a question or query? Give us a few details in the box below and we'll get back to you. 

Our Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice includes information on the scope of our service and how we will handle your data.

CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
6 + 5 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

What to do if you are experiencing financial difficulties

We recognise that the current economic conditions are putting pressure on many households and businesses. At Howden, we are committed to finding ways to assist our customers who may require additional support during these times.

If you’re currently facing financial difficulty, please speak to us about your insurance policies by:-

-contacting your Howden Service Team; 
-calling Howden on 020 7623 3806;
-using the Enquiry form.

D&O report mockup

D&O market outlook

What's in store for the Directors' & Officers' Liability Insurance market this year? Read our 2023 report, 'Navigating global headwinds'.