Premiums for directors and officers ( D&O ) insurance are set to rise beyond the 20 % increase in 2019 so far because of increasing numbers of class actions and a rise in severity . Some insurers have reduced their capacity for more challenging situations , raised retentions , cut ##backs and , in some cases , refused business . Consultancy insurance Nero said securities class actions in the US are at their highest levels since the dotcom crash , with 441 new cases in 2019 . Also , the severity of lawsuits is increasing , with US settlements passing $ 5bn , according to Cornerstone , including five settlements of more than $ 100 million .
Premiums for directors and officers (D&O) insurance are set to rise beyond the 20% increase in 2019 so far because of increasing numbers of class actions and a rise in severity. Some insurers have reduced their capacity for more challenging situations, raised retentions, cut limits and, in some cases, refused business. Consultancy firm Nero said securities class actions in the US are at their highest levels since the dotcom crash, with 441 new cases in 2018. Also, the severity of losses is increasing, with US settlements passing $5bn, according to Cornerstone, including five settlements of more than $100m.