The Statewide Tobacco, National Safety Council & AWA decisions have generated a good deal of comment in business circles and in the media. References have been made in legal and business journals as to the importance of Directors' and Officers' Liability (D & O) insurance when discussing these court decisions. Unfortunately, for the purchasers of this class of insurance there is very little written material as to how to adequately evaluate the different D & 0 insurance policies offered by underwriters. This paper examines the background of this class of insurance and suggests a way of comparing the various policies offered by the insurance market and a number of risk minimisation strategies.