On February 15, significant changes to the regime for the disqualification of company directors entered into force.

The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021 provides, for the first time, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy with powers to investigate and pursue disqualification proceedings against directors of dissolved companies.

The reforms to the director disqualification regime, and the increase in the circumstances in which a company director may be subject to disqualification proceedings, will be of note to company directors and to providers of directors' and officers' liability insurance.

In this C&G client alert, Thomas Shortland discusses the scope of the reforms and identifies factors that may affect how frequently the new powers will be exercised.

(This article was originally published in Law360.)