The risk landscape for senior executives of a company has changed dramatically over the past decade. SME and mid-market companies and their directors and officers are exposed to a far greater range of risks than ever before.

Kathryn Moon, managing director of insurance broker, risk management specialist and consulting firm Gallagher in Coventry, explains: “Amongst SME and mid-market companies, the use of Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) insurance is increasingly important. Decisions you make, whether as a director or an officer of a business, can resurface months or even years later in the shape of a personal claim against you, by employees, the company or a third party.

“Gallagher offers  D&O liability insurance policies, providing comprehensive protection within a broad policy wording, with few exclusions and wider definitions than many other policies out there. These can be tailored.”

Typically, D&O insurance covers:

• Regulatory Investigations – claims associated with regulatory investigations against individuals
• Director vs. Company – allegations individual directors face from their own companies or shareholders
• Criminal Actions – criminal allegations (and investigations) made against the directors and officers of a company
• Defamation Cases – cases which are often bitterly pursued by the individuals or companies who feel aggrieved by comments or actions allegedly taken against them
• Contract Disputes – claims which arise from disputes with suppliers and customers, following allegations of non-performance or non-payment
• Corporate Insolvencies – claims made by creditors in the event of a corporate insolvency following retrospective scrutiny of company transactions, accounts, and the actions of individual directors
• Harassment – allegations made against the directors and officers of a company for abusive or threatening behaviour
• Privacy and Data Breaches – cases where management have accessed personal emails and messages. A growing problem due to company data being stored on personal devices, and personal data being stored on company devices

If you’d like to find out how Gallagher can help, please visit www.ajg.com/uk or call 02476 232600.