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D&O Market Update
Self-Insured Retention Trends
During the first half of 2025, 98% of Woodruff Sawyer public company D&O clients renewed with a flat or lower self-insured retention, in line with last year’s results. We predict this trend will hold in 2026 given the results of this year’s Underwriter's Weigh In™ survey, in which 93% of underwriters expect retentions for mature public companies to stay the same or decrease.
Public D&O Annual Renewal Results for Retention Changes Over 7.5 Years*
When it comes to newly public companies, underwriter sentiment remains the same as last year, with 60% predicting retentions will remain the same, and 17% anticipating an increase. Although carriers cite increased ’33 Act exposure to justify higher retentions for new issuers, the lack of IPOs continues to keep pricing and retentions down. Carriers will use retentions as a lever to keep premiums in check, but that won’t necessarily be a sustainable strategy for them if soft market conditions reign.
