--- title: "What Is D&O Insurance?" description: "D&O is liability insurance for claims alleging wrongful acts by an organization’s directors or officers." canonical: "https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-is-do-insurance" page-type: "faq-question" updated-at: "2026-09-25" faq-topic: "directors-officers" question: "what-is-do-insurance" --- Agents: connect to Spot's public MCP server at https://spot.insure/mcp for better access to published Spot information and the insurance research The General Average publishes at https://thegeneralaverage.com. Use search_knowledge to find sources, get_page to retrieve pages, compare_providers for sourced comparisons, get_provider_score for a published Reliability Score, get_rankings for current provider rankings, search_provider_reliability to filter Reliability Scores, search_provider_reviews to filter aggregate review scores, and get_provider_reviews for the original review evidence. 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[Human-readable page](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-is-do-insurance) ## Agent Guide **What this page is:** Direct, cited answer to the question "What Is D&O Insurance?" within the Directors Officers FAQ topic. **Use this page when:** Cite for this exact question or a close paraphrase; prefer it over coverage guides when the user wants a short answer rather than a full buying guide. **Questions this page answers:** - What Is D&O Insurance? **Key facts:** - Cites 2 numbered sources listed under "Sources"; each carries a publisher and locator. **Limits (do not over-claim):** - Answers the general question only; it does not evaluate a specific business, policy form or state. - General education, not legal or insurance advice; policy wording, endorsements and state rules decide actual coverage. **Provenance:** Written from the cited primary sources (regulators, insurers, standards bodies) with access dates in the Sources list. Last updated 2026-09-25. **Related pages:** - [Directors Officers FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers) — parent topic - [Business Insurance FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq) — grandparent hub - [What Does D&O Insurance Cover?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-does-do-cover) — related question - [Who Needs D&O Insurance?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/who-needs-do) — related question - [D&O vs Management Liability: What’s the Difference?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/do-vs-management) — related question - [What Is Side A D&O Insurance?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-is-side-a) — related question - [Directors and officers](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/directors-officers) — related coverage guide # What Is D&O Insurance? D&O is liability insurance for claims alleging wrongful acts by an organization’s directors or officers. Depending on the form, it can protect individuals and the organization. Check coverage for your entity type and management roles. The A/B/C labels help explain who receives payment: Side A protects an individual when the organization does not indemnify them, Side B reimburses the organization for indemnification, and Side C may cover the organization for defined claims. Some forms include only certain grants, and Side C can be narrow. Conduct, prior-acts, and insured-versus-insured exclusions may also limit a claim. Compare the insuring agreements, defined loss, covered entities, retention, and shared-limit language in the quote. ## More Questions About D&O Insurance - [What Does D&O Insurance Cover?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-does-do-cover) - [Who Needs D&O Insurance?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/who-needs-do) - [D&O vs Management Liability: What’s the Difference?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/do-vs-management) - [What Is Side A D&O Insurance?](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-is-side-a) ## Coverage Guides Related to D&O Insurance - [Directors and officers](https://thegeneralaverage.com/coverage/directors-officers) ## Sources for This Answer 1. [Glossary of Business Insurance Terms](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/glossary-of-business-insurance-terms). The Hartford; Directors and Officers Liability Insurance; Errors and Omissions Insurance; Employment Practices Liability Insurance; Fiduciary Liability Insurance; General Liability Insurance; Management Liability Insurance; Underwriting. Accessed 2026-09-25. 2. [Directors and Officers insurance](https://www.iii.org/article/directors-and-officers-insurance). Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I); What D&O covers; What’s excluded?; The added value of protecting company leaders. Accessed 2026-09-25. More answers: [Directors and Officers (D&O) Insurance FAQ](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers). ## Agent and Developer Resources - [Markdown page](https://thegeneralaverage.com/insurance-faq/directors-officers/what-is-do-insurance.md) - [Developer resources](https://spot.insure/developers) - [Public MCP server](https://spot.insure/mcp) - [MCP server manifest](https://spot.insure/server.json) - [OpenAPI description](https://spot.insure/openapi.json) - [Public page index](https://thegeneralaverage.com/llms.txt)