Cover for the people who run the business, not just the business.

Directors & officers liability covers the personal liability of the individuals running an organisation — claims that they breached their duties, acted negligently or made a wrongful decision. Management liability is a package built around D&O that adds covers for the company itself: employment disputes, statutory liability, crime and often the company's own legal costs. For most small and mid-sized NZ companies, a management liability package is the practical way to buy it; larger or listed companies tend to arrange standalone D&O. Your broker will recommend which fits.

Being a small company doesn't remove the duties. The Companies Act 1993 places personal duties on every director — to act in good faith, to avoid reckless trading, not to take on obligations the company can't meet — and NZ courts have held directors personally liable for very large sums when those duties were breached. Claims can come from liquidators, creditors, shareholders, regulators or employees. The policy pays to defend you and, where the claim succeeds, to settle it — so your house isn't the thing on the line.

Partly. Officers have a personal due-diligence duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and management liability policies commonly cover the cost of defending an investigation or prosecution under it. What no policy can do is pay a fine under that Act — insuring those fines is prohibited by law. Reparation ordered to a victim, and fines under other statutes where insurance is permitted, can be covered. Your broker will walk you through exactly where your wording stops.

It responds when a current, former or prospective employee brings a claim against the business — a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, a claim of discrimination, harassment or bullying, or a dispute over how a restructure was run. The cover is for the legal costs of dealing with the claim through mediation and the Employment Relations Authority, and for any settlement or award. It typically sits inside a management liability package rather than being sold on its own.

Yes — it's usually called association liability or trustees' liability, and it's built for not-for-profit boards, committees and trustees. The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 now sets out officers' duties in law, much as the Companies Act does for company directors, so the exposure for volunteer committee members is real. Cover for the organisation's employment disputes and statutory liability is normally included. Your broker can arrange it for a single trust or a group of related entities.

Generally yes, but there are rules. Under the Companies Act, a company can only take out insurance for its directors if the constitution permits it and the board approves and records the decision. It's a routine step, but one that's easy to miss — ask your broker and your accountant to make sure the paperwork sits behind the policy. Policies are also claims-made, so keep cover continuous and ask about run-off when a director steps down.