D&O · Professional Indemnity · IT Contractors · Cyber
Financial Lines Insurance NZ
Protection for directors, management, professionals, and the financial consequences of business decisions. We structure cover for D&O, management liability, Professional Indemnity, IT Contractors, and Cyber Insurance where the financial exposure matters most.
Why Directors & Officers Need Protection
Company directors and officers in New Zealand face personal liability for their decisions, actions, and omissions. The Companies Act, Health & Safety at Work Act, and employment law create a complex web of obligations that can result in personal claims against individuals — even when they acted in good faith. Financial lines insurance protects the personal assets of directors and officers, covers defence costs, and provides entity-level protection for the company. In an increasingly litigious environment, D&O cover is no longer optional — it's essential governance.
Professional Indemnity (PI)
Professional Indemnity insurance protects professionals who provide advice, designs, or specialist services — covering claims arising from alleged negligence, error, or omission in your professional work. It pays defence costs and damages, and is typically a contractual requirement for engineers, architects, consultants, accountants, IT professionals, and management advisers. Limits are sized against your largest project values and contract requirements. We structure PI programmes that meet your contract obligations, account for run-off cover after project completion, and align deductibles with your cash-flow capacity.
IT Contractors & Technology Professionals
IT Contractors carry a unique blend of liability exposures — professional indemnity for service-delivery failures, technology errors & omissions (Tech E&O) for software defects, cyber liability for data incidents, and public liability for on-site work. A single contract dispute, system outage, or data breach can crystallise into a multi-million dollar claim. Exclusive Insurance Services arranges combined PI + Tech E&O + Cyber programmes specifically designed for IT contractors, MSPs, software developers, SaaS providers, and digital agencies. Limits and wordings are matched to the SLAs and indemnity clauses in your contracts — not generic policies that exclude tech-specific exposures.
Cyber Insurance — Now Essential
Cyber attacks are the number one operational risk for New Zealand businesses, and standard business policies exclude them. Cyber Insurance responds to the full lifecycle of a digital incident — first-party costs (incident response, forensic investigation, business interruption, ransomware payment where legal, data restoration) and third-party claims (privacy litigation, regulatory penalties under the Privacy Act 2020, media liability). For directors, cyber readiness is now a governance issue: failure to maintain adequate cyber cover can attract personal liability under the Companies Act. We structure Cyber programmes that integrate with your existing D&O, PI, and Tech E&O cover to remove gaps between policies.
What We Cover
Our financial lines programmes are structured to protect individuals and entities across the full spectrum of governance, employment, professional, and digital risks — from D&O Side A personal protection to Cyber business interruption.
Cover Types
Who Is This For?
Why Exclusive Insurance Services?
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What Insurers Typically Need
Information an insurer may require
Underwriters generally ask for the following when quoting or renewing this class of risk. Being ready with accurate information usually improves outcomes on price and wording.
Nature of the business, revenue, number of directors, employees and shareholders
Contract obligations that require specific PI or D&O minimums
Prior claims and circumstances notified to previous insurers
Directorship history and any external directorships held
For technology providers: SLAs, indemnity clauses in client contracts, cyber posture
Financial statements or a summary of turnover and net assets
When Something Happens
Claims considerations
We help manage the claims process from notification through to settlement, coordinating with you, the insurer and other parties involved and advocating for your interests throughout. Things that commonly affect a claim in this area:
Notify the insurer as soon as a circumstance is known — professional-indemnity and D&O policies are claims-made; late notification is a common reason for declinature.
A single incident can trigger multiple policies (PI, cyber, D&O); the order of notification matters.
Run-off cover is required after retirement or sale of a business — arrange this before the transaction, not after.
Regulatory investigations under the Companies Act, H&S Act and Privacy Act can precede a formal claim; defence costs are triggered early.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is D&O insurance?
Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance protects company directors and officers against personal liability for decisions made in their role. It covers defence costs, settlements, and judgments arising from claims by shareholders, employees, regulators, and third parties.
Do IT Contractors need Professional Indemnity?
Yes — and usually a combined programme. Most NZ contracts now require IT Contractors to hold Professional Indemnity + Cyber + Public Liability. We structure combined PI/Tech E&O/Cyber programmes with limits matched to the indemnity clauses in your contracts.
Are directors personally liable in NZ?
Yes. Under the Companies Act 1993, Health & Safety at Work Act 2015, and other legislation, directors can be personally liable for company decisions, workplace safety failures, and trading while insolvent. D&O insurance protects their personal assets.
Why is Cyber Insurance grouped with Financial Lines?
Because cyber incidents now trigger financial-lines exposures — regulatory investigations under the Privacy Act 2020, D&O claims against directors for governance failures, and PI claims from clients affected by your breach. Cyber, D&O, and PI need to be structured together to avoid gaps where one policy points to another.
Do small companies need D&O insurance?
Yes. Small and private companies are actually more vulnerable because directors often have fewer resources to defend claims and greater personal exposure. Employment disputes, regulatory investigations, and creditor claims affect businesses of all sizes.
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About this page
Reviewed by Adi Sehgal
Verified adviserDirector & Principal Adviser
This page is general information about the class of cover. Actual cover, terms, premiums, limits, exclusions and eligibility vary by insurer, policy wording, underwriting decision and individual client circumstances. Nothing on this page constitutes personalised financial advice.