Soft pricing in D&O to continue

Pricing for D&O coverage is soft and could get softer, according to Lance Dalzell-Piper of Marsh FINPRO and David Bradford of Advisen Ltd., who spoke during the PLUS Symposium discussion of “D&O Litigation Trends and Predictions of Things to Come.”

The number of securities class action lawsuits filed has been trending downward, which correlates to the number of financial restatements. Shareholders are getting “less and less benefit” from securities class action lawsuits while lawyers are reaping the rewards, which would encourage the trend to continue.

“This is important because securities class action settlements defined the D&O marketplace,” Dalzell-Piper said, noting that it affects pricing.

Bradford offered that the soft D&O market will continue as long as surplus capacity exists.

Furthermore, he predicted, if this year’s hurricane season passes without a major event, there will be even more surplus that could lead to further price reductions.