Directors and Officers Insurance in New Hampshire

NH Directors and Officers Insurance

What is Directors and Officers Insurance?

Leaders of businesses and other organizations in New Hampshire have sizable responsibilities, and they're sometimes held personally accountable if they misstep in their duties. Directors and officers insurance helps protect leaders from some of the personal risks they assume.

Directors and officers insurance policies are specialized commercial liability policies. These policies usually fall under the umbrella of professional liability coverage, but D&O policies can vary significantly from other professional liability policies.

Who in New Hampshire is Directors and Officers Coverage Right For?

Most leaders of for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations in New Hampshire can benefit from having D&O insurance. This includes, but isn’t limited to, the following:

  • CEOs, COOs, CFOs and other C-level executives

  • Presidents and vice presidents

  • Chairpersons and board members

  • Directors and other officers

Most people in any of these positions could be held personally liable for any errors they make related to their professional duties.

Who Pays for Directors and Officers Coverage?

While D&O insurance generally gives leaders personal protections, leaders usually aren’t the ones to pay for these policies. A leader may want to procure a policy for themselves if the business or organization doesn’t offer coverage, but it’s usually the business or nonprofit that actually pays for the policy.

Businesses and nonprofits typically pay for these policies because the policies offer protection against risks that leaders assume when they agree to work for the business or nonprofit. If leaders didn’t take on the role by helping a business or nonprofit, they wouldn’t have to get the coverage.

(“Work” used in this sense doesn’t have to include receiving a paycheck or salary, for volunteer leaders of nonprofits may still be held personally liable for errors that negatively impact the organization they lead.)

What Sorts of Incidents Does Directors and Officers Coverage Protect Against?

D&O insurance often gives leaders protection against a range of potential errors and other incidents. A policy may offer coverage for:

  • Poor investment decisions

  • Conflicts of interest

  • Problems related to personnel decisions

  • Leaks of confidential or personal information

  • Gross negligence

  • Unlawful acts

These protections don’t give leaders permission to knowingly ignore conflicts of interest, be negligent or act unlawfully, and the insurance protections often won’t shield leaders from legal consequences. The coverage may help pay legal fees and settlements associated with lawsuits arising from the above-listed incidents, though.

What Limits Should Organizations Choose When Getting D&O Insurance?

D&O policies often come with fairly high limits, for the lawsuits filed against businesses and nonprofit leaders can be expensive. There isn’t, however, a single amount of coverage that every organization should look for. Instead, organizations ought to take into account several factors when selecting limits for a D&O policy. These factors include:

  • How much risk a particular leader assumes

  • How much a claim might cost

  • How many resources (if any) an organization has to help a leader who’s sued

  • How much protection (if any) other insurance policies offer for covered claims

  • Other factors that may impact the likelihood of a claim

Answering these questions frequently requires meeting with someone who knows the organization, an insurance agent who specializes in D&O insurance and an attorney.

How Can New Hampshire Organizations Get Quotes for Directors and Officers Insurance?

For help finding directors and officers insurance that’ll protect your New Hampshire business’ or nonprofits’ leaders well, contact the independent insurance agents at HPM Insurance. Our agents have helped many organizations in NH and throughout New England get this type of coverage for their leaders, and we’re ready to assist you with everything from selecting limits to comparing quotes as well.