According to Woodruff Sawyer’s “Looking Ahead Guide 2026,” the D&O market remains favorable for mature public companies, but not quite to the same extent that it has in recent years:

Pricing continues to decline for mature public companies, though the rate of those decreases has steadily moderated. This trend is especially evident when focusing on pricing for the primary layer of coverage. In 2025, the median premium reduction in this segment is 5%. That’s a notable shift from the high single-digit decreases seen in 2024 and the steeper 14%–22% median reductions experienced in 2023. The market appears to be stabilizing, even as buyers continue to benefit from favorable conditions.

For the excess layers on D&O program towers, two dynamics are shaping the market. For starters, new entrants are still struggling to gain traction and market share. In a competitive soft market, these unproven carriers are rarely chosen for primary layers or for critical excess positions. That’s because established carriers are aggressively moving down the tower to secure layers with more rate. As a result, buyers are seeing reductions across their total programs—but carrier appetite for the high excess layers could be close to capacity.

The Guide also has good news for less mature companies, finding that premiums for IPO issuers and mature public companies have converged and that the large gap in premium rates that existed prior to the first quarter of 2024 has mostly been eliminated.

Despite the continuing good news for D&O buyers, there may be storm clouds on the horizon. The Guide says that 83% of underwriters surveyed said that the risk environment is increasing, and ” an overwhelming majority of underwriters believe that increasing complexity and global volatility will inevitably lead to more D&O claims.”

– John Jenkins