16. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal – E&O and Other Considerations

As an E&S and Admitted markets intermediary, the Company faces ordinary course of business E&O exposure. The Company also has potential E&O risk if an insurance carrier with which Ryan Specialty placed coverage denies coverage for a claim or pays less than the insured believes is the full amount owed. The Company seeks to resolve, through commercial accommodations, certain matters to limit the economic exposure, including potential legal fees, and reputational risk created by a disagreement between a carrier and the insured, as well as other E&O matters.

The Company utilizes insurance to provide protection from E&O liabilities that may arise during the ordinary course of business. Ryan Specialty’s E&O insurance provides aggregate coverage for E&O losses up to $100.0 million in excess of a per claim retention amount of $5.0 million. The Company’s per claim retention amount increased from $2.5 million to $5.0 million as of June 1, 2023. The Company periodically determines a range of possible outcomes using the best available information that relies, in part, on projecting historical claim data into the future. Loss contingencies of $6.4 million and $26.1 million were recorded for outstanding matters as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Loss contingencies exclude the impact of any loss recoveries. The Company recognized the net impact of the loss contingencies and any loss recoveries of $6.9 million, $7.5 million, and $3.0 million of E&O expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively, in General and administrative expense on the Consolidated Statements of Income. The historical claim and commercial accommodation data used to project the current estimates may not be indicative of future claim activity. Thus, the estimates could change in the future as more information becomes known, which could materially impact the amounts reported and disclosed herein.

During 2022, the Company placed certain insurance policies through a trading partner with the understanding that the policies were underwritten by highly rated insurance capital. The policies were instead underwritten by an insurance carrier that was not considered satisfactory by the Company or the insureds. The Company committed to securing replacement coverage, to the extent commercially available, from highly rated insurance companies on terms substantially similar to the insurance coverage originally agreed upon. As a result of this unusual circumstance, the Company has and may continue to incur losses (“Replacement Costs”) arising from the original placements. The Company has determined that it is probable that it will be exposed to the Replacement Costs on policies placed with this trading partner. The Company recognized an estimated loss contingency of $0.2 million and $23.1 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, within Accounts payable and accrued liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Relatedly, the Company has obtained sufficient evidence from its E&O insurance carriers to conclude that a recovery of the claim for the Replacement Costs, in excess of the $2.5 million retention, is probable. A loss recovery of $20.6 million was recorded as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 in Other current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. In the aggregate, the loss contingency and related loss recovery resulted in a $2.5 million expense recognized in the year ended December 31, 2022. No further expense was recognized in the year ended December 31, 2023.

It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of Replacement Costs will change in the near term as policies are adjusted. Further, exposure to additional losses may arise from policies that had expired prior to, or shortly after, the discovery of this unusual circumstance, adjustable premiums arising from the addition or deletion of properties over the policy term, unpaid covered claims, or other damages for losses incurred by our customers. An estimate of these potential losses cannot be made at this time but could change in the future as more information becomes known.