The Litigation Cost of Cross‐Listing Into the United States

Abstract

Research Question/IssueI study the expected liability cost of cross‐listing into the United States by examining the change in the structure of a Canadian firm's directors' and officers' liability insurance contract (D&O insurance) before and after cross‐listing on an exchange located in the United States (NYSE, NASDAQ, or OTC).Research Findings/InsightsResults show that neither the likelihood of having D&O liability insurance increases significantly only when the NASDAQ is the chosen as the cross‐listing venue nor the amount of coverage changes significantly after cross‐listing. With respect to choosing the NYSE as the cross‐listing venue, results show that coverage does not increase, but the premium does. As a result, the D&O insurance premium per dollar of coverage increases significantly only when the firm cross‐lists on the NYSE. A robust point estimate is that a Canadian firm's D&O liability insurance premium increases by 40%–60% when it becomes listed on a US market.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsD&O insurers adjust their expected litigation costs as a function of where shares are traded not because of the severity of damages paid in the event of litigation, by mostly because of an increase in the frequency of such litigation.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsIf D&O premium‐to‐coverage ratio allows one to measure a company's litigation risk, then there would be value to investors to have access to basic D&O insurance information such as the premium and the coverage.