董監事暨重要職員責任保險對企業信用評等之影響

The Effect of Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance on Firms’ Credit Ratings

本文旨在以債權人的觀點，針對2008年至2011年在臺灣證券交易所及櫃檯買賣中心交易之上市（櫃）公司為研究樣本，探討上市（櫃）公司購買董監事暨重要職員責任保險（簡稱D&O保險）是否會影響債權人對企業信用風險的認知，而債權人對企業信用風險的認知係以信用評量機構發布的評等來衡量。整體而言，實證結果穩健地支持相對於未購買D&O保險的公司，有購買D&O保險的公司，其信用評等較佳；然而進一步針對有購買D&O保險的公司，探討其投保金額與信用評等之關聯性時，實證結果則發現，當公司依自身之特質及所面臨的風險投保適度的金額（即正常投保金額），將可獲得較佳的信用評等；但當公司投保金額超過公司自身特質及風險所需之保險金額（即超額投保金額）愈大時，反而使債權人認為董監事與管理階層的道德風險會增加，因而導致給予較差的信用評等。

This paper explores the effect of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O insurance hereafter) on the firms’ credit ratings, which serve as a proxy for firms’ credit risk perceived by the creditors. We construct a sample from the firms listed on both the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and GreTai Securities Market (GTSM) from 2008 to 2011. The evidence shows that firms with D&O insurance have better credit ratings than those without D&O insurance. Further results show that D&O insurance coverage also impacts firms’ credit ratings. If the firm purchases the appropriate (normal) D&O insurance coverage that suits the firm’s specific characteristics and risk, it tends to have a superior credit rating. However, if the firm purchases excess (abnormal) D&O insurance coverage that is more than the firm’s needs, it tends to have an inferior credit rating, a fact that likely stems from opportunistic behaviors from the directors and managers at the expense of creditors.