Corporate directors and officers are facing a broader and more costly range of personal liabilities than at any point in the past decade, driven by geopolitical turbulence, surging insolvencies, tightening ESG regulations, and the emerging legal risks of artificial intelligence. D&O insurers are responding by tightening underwriting discipline and, in several markets, reversing years of premium declines. Industry specialists from Allianz Commercial, Clyde & Co., and the Global Deloitte AI Institute outline the forces at work and what boards need to do.
In brief
- —Global insolvencies rose 10% in 2024, a fifth straight annual increase
- —AI-washing claims and ESG enforcement are new D&O litigation triggers
- —D&O premiums rising as years of price declines flatten or reverse
Global insolvencies up 10% in 2024, fuelling a fifth straight year of D&O claims pressure
Corporate insolvencies remain one of the most direct triggers for directors’ and officers’ liability claims, and the numbers are moving in the wrong direction. According to Allianz Trade, global business insolvencies rose 10% in 2024, closing the year 12% above pre-pandemic levels. The group’s Global Insolvency Report, published last month, estimates a further 6% increase in 2025 and forecasts a 5% rise in 2026 — what would be a fifth consecutive annual increase.
