This week's news agenda will be dominated by the theme, Pressure at the Top. Tony Blair and Sir Alex Ferguson are both caught in the media glare.

Two men at the top of their game, loved and hated in equal measure, will come under intense scrutiny for the professional manner in which they conduct themselves.

Corporate governance issues (though applicable in Fergie's case, not so with Blair) are being addressed in the boardrooms of the UK. Well, this was the verdict of last week's AIG-sponsored conference on the subject.

According to the speakers the rules have been tightened, in particular for non-executive directors, who can no longer just read the board minutes in the back of the cab on their way to the meeting.

What insurers hope is that the government will intervene further. Responsibil-ities for chairmen and chief executives have been defined in the Higgs Review, but insurers want the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to take more action.

What directors' and officers' (D&O) insurers are hoping for is a change in the legal framework for director's liability.

They want to see a change in the legal standard for liability from negligence to gross negligence.

This will lead to clearer definitions on the responsibilities for directors in the future. But more importantly for the UK business community as a whole, lower and more affordable D&O premiums.

The likelihood that Blair's evidence to the Hutton inquiry will show he was economical with the 'actuality', or Fergie's alleged 'nepotism for cash', will push up D&O prices and force a capacity crisis, seems remote.

But the insurance industry itself will be placed under the media glare once the

ramifications of the Serious Fraud Office's investigation of the alleged overstated profit claims made by Equitable Life's directors begins.

Let's hope the DTI will listen.

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