D&O insurance in Hong Kong. Also known as Directors’ and Officers’ insurance, this cover is designed to protect individual company Directors’ and Officers’ against an action brought against them for a wrongful act.

Directors’ and Officers’ are personally exposed to unlimited financial liability for their actions, and it is the responsibility of both the company and the Board of Directors’ to ensure that they receive the highest level of protection.

The company’s Directors’ and Officers’, in their business capacity, should consider this coverage. A D&O policy taken out by the company covers the liability of all Directors’ (whether executive or non-executive) and company Officers’. The law does not distinguish between different categories of Directors’.

Trustees

Trustees can also incur liabilities in the same way as Directors’. Consequently, apart from the different terminology that uses “trustees” instead of “directors”, policies for trustees follow the same principles and wording as a D&O policy.

D&O is a specialised product and will require a thorough understanding of factors such as the following:

• Directors’ within certain sectors and industries, such as financial institutions, life sciences and IT companies, are at higher risk.
• Shareholdings and whether it is a privately or publicly traded company
• Financial performance, including the latest audited accounts
• Location – US exposure etc.
• How long the company has been trading

The cost will ultimately depend on risk exposure and the limit of liability. As a very general indication, annual premiums start from HK$11,700/ US$1,500*.

*This is an indicative premium, for a personalised Quote, please complete the quotation form.