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Suits arise as tariff questions raise D&O risk - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Suits arise as tariff questions raise D&O risk by Claire Wilkinson Reuters Agents and Brokers , Current Issue , D&O Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. , Marsh & McLennan , Willis Towers Watson Mar 1, 2026 Securities class-action lawsuits are emerging as uncertainty and fallout from the Trump administration’s tariff policies increase risks for directors and officers. While businesses are digesting the recent Supreme Court ruling finding that President Donald Trump overreached with his original tariffs, shifts in trade policy are expected to persist, making accurate corporate disclosures and scenario planning critical, experts say. D&O insurance pricing is unlikely to be affected, though, because tariff-related claims so far have been limited and the coverage market remains competitive, they said (see related story below). Tariffs pose risks to both public and private companies, said Kevin LaCroix, a lawyer and Beachwood, Ohio-based executive vice president at RT ProExec, a division of RT Specialty. Those risks include regulatory enforcement actions and the possibility of private follow-on litigation, he said. Tariff-related lawsuits brought by shareholders or other claimants are “a new phenomenon,” Mr. LaCroix said. Federal securities class-action filings fell to 207 in 2025, down 10.7% from 2024, according to a report issued in January by National Economic Research Associates, a consulting unit of Marsh, formerly Marsh McLennan. But “in what may be a new trend in filings, there were four suits with tariff-related claims and one filing related to visa issues,” the report said. A case filed last August against industrial chemical company Dow alleged it made misrepresentations regarding its ability to mitigate macroeconomic and tariff-related headwinds, according to the report. In September, a separate shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against the company’s executives. Used-car retailer CarMax was the target of a securities suit filed in November alleging the company overstated its long-term growth prospects after an earlier short-term surge in demand driven by anticipated tariffs. Last September, a suit was filed against Tronox Holdings alleging the chemicals company misled investors about its ability to achieve growth and manage demand for titanium dioxide and zircon products in part because of tariff-related uncertainties. CarMax said it had “no information to share at this time.” Dow and Tronox each did not respond to a request for comment. Some industry commentators have used the term “tariff-washing” to refer to situations where companies either overstate their resilience to tariffs or downplay risks in public disclosures. Tariffs present added risk for directors and officers, particularly for private companies, said Will Fahey, a New York-based managing director in the financial and professional lines practice of Marsh Risk, formerly Marsh. “All companies, public and private, need to focus on the disclosures they make about how they’re handling tariffs,” he said. As with artificial intelligence, D&O insurers see tariffs as a potential driver of increased claims in 2026, but overall, securities class actions related to tariffs last year were limited, Mr. Fahey said. Tariffs have had a greater effect on private companies, leading to bankruptcies and enforcement actions by the Trump administration under the False Claims Act, he said. D&O policies for private companies provide more coverage than those for public companies for regulatory actions, such as those under the False Claims Act, Mr. Fahey said. Changes in tariffs create uncertainty and exposure for public companies, which can lead to potential stock drops and legal action, said Lenin Lopez, San Diego-based senior vice president at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. “It all comes down to disclosure,” Mr. Lopez said. Questions will arise during earnings calls, perhaps from analysts seeking to understand the impact of tariffs and how a company is handling them, he said. “Getting too deep into the weeds may create risk,” while not having accurate answers or internal controls to track these issues also poses significant risk, he said. In a volatile environment where tariffs can change rapidly, it can be difficult for companies to manage their exposures, said Wayne Imrie, head of London market wholesale executive risks at Beazley. Transparent disclosure and robust financial modeling are critical, he said. Companies with strong systems and processes are better equipped to handle tariff impacts. D&O policies generally cover claims related to poor decision-making and lack of diligence but do not cover fraud or intentional misrepresentation, Mr. Imrie said. Securities fraud class actions and derivative suits arising from tariff disclosures would generally be covered under D&O policies, said Larry Fine, New York-based management liability coverage leader at Willis Towers Watson. “The good news is that most of these things fall into historic categories. They’re not different in type. We expect any claim that says ‘You misled the market’ would tend to trigger D&O coverage and is likely to be 100% covered for defense and settlement. That’s the bread and butter,” Mr. Fine said. Companies should be aggressive in looking to their D&O coverage to respond to these types of lawsuits, said Evan Knott, a partner in the Chicago office of law firm Honigman. “Like anything with insurance coverage, the devil’s in the details. It’s going to come down to what kind of policy language you have,” Mr. Knott said. Insurers are more likely to raise coverage defenses on government investigations and False Claims Act litigation related to tariffs, said Carrie DiCanio, a partner in the Denver and New York offices of law firm Haynes Boone. “Coverage for government investigations is more nuanced,” Ms. DiCanio said. Insurance market ‘largely flat’ The market for directors and officers liability insurance continues to stabilize and remains competitive despite geopolitical tensions and new sources of claims, such as tariffs. While tariffs and other risks, such as artificial intelligence, are receiving attention, they have yet to materialize into significant claims, said Will Fahey, a New York-based managing director in the financial and professional lines practice at Marsh Risk, formerly Marsh. “Overall, the D&O market is largely flat going into 2026,” he said. Insurers have limited room to maneuver in the current phase of the market cycle, said Kevin LaCroix, a lawyer and executive vice president at RT ProExec, a division of RT Specialty. “Any carrier that would, for example, try to put on a tariff-related exclusion, all they would accomplish is they would lose business because there would be plenty of other carriers willing to write,” he said. Tariffs are a data point, “but we’re not seeing them move the needle” on insurability or the actual cost of insurance, said Lenin Lopez, San Diego-based senior vice president at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The U.S. financial lines market is showing signs of stabilizing, according to a report released late last year by Allianz Commercial. However, there are segments that remain more competitive, such as private D&O, the insurer said. 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