Directors & Officers Insurance

Protects the people running your firm: partners, officers, and board members. Covers claims when someone says they made a bad decision.

What it covers

Lawsuits from employees. Wrongful termination, discrimination, or retaliation claims against management.
Regulatory investigations. A government agency investigates your business practices. D&O covers the legal costs to respond.
Customer or competitor claims. Allegations of unfair business practices, misleading statements, or mismanagement.
Investor or partner disputes. Claims of misrepresentation, breach of duty, or mismanagement of company funds.
Personal liability. Without D&O, owners and officers can be held personally liable for business decisions. That means personal assets are at risk.

Who needs D&O

Any firm with partners, officers, or a board. This isn't just for big corporations. If you run a professional services firm with employees, clients, and contracts, the people making decisions are exposed. Wrongful termination claims, regulatory inquiries, disputes with departing partners. These happen to firms of every size.

For partnerships (accounting firms, law firms, consulting practices) D&O is particularly important. Partners can be personally liable for firm decisions. When a partner leaves, when the firm takes on a new practice area, or when a regulatory body investigates, the individuals involved need protection separate from the firm's E&O coverage.

What to watch for

Does it cover the company or just the individuals? Some policies only protect directors and officers personally. For most businesses, you also want the company covered because the company is usually the target.

Prior acts. If you're buying D&O for the first time, make sure it covers decisions made before the policy started. Without this, anything that happened before you bought the policy is excluded.

Regulatory investigation coverage. Not every D&O policy includes it. If your industry has any regulatory oversight, make sure it's covered.

D&O insurance by industry

Law firms -- Partner disputes, departing partner issues, and bar regulatory investigations create personal liability for managing partners.
Accounting firms -- State board investigations, partner restructuring, and firm growth decisions expose individual partners.
Consultants -- Taking on new practice areas, restructuring, or disputes with departing consultants create leadership exposure.