Unlike publicly held corporations, the shares of privately held organizations are not traded on major stock exchanges. In addition, ownership is usually restricted to a small number of persons, typically the executives and managers who operate the company. As a result, the potential for high-dollar securities class action lawsuits is negligible under private company directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance. Consequently, premiums for private company D&O insurance policies are substantially lower than for comparable limits written for publicly held organizations.