By Mariam Sunny

March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmakers Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY )

increased spending on security for their top executives in 2024, with both citing increased

threats after a UnitedHealth ( UNH ) insurance executive was murdered outside the company's investor

meeting in December, regulatory filings show.

J&J is now providing executives with an armed driver, and both pharmaceutical companies have

given executives home protection and a security detail for travel, according to their annual

proxy statements. In previous years, those filings did not contain such specific details; this

marks the first time Lilly has made security disclosures in its proxy.

Brian Thompson, the former CEO of UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH ) insurance unit

UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead on December 4 outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel where the

company was holding an investor conference. The killing prompted companies to reassess whether

the risk of targeted violence against top management had increased.

J&J's executives are now required to use an armed driver and a secure company vehicle for

all travel after an internal security assessment conducted in December due to "increased

threats," according to its regulatory filing, released Wednesday. The company did not respond to

Reuters when asked if they made the review after Thompson's murder.

The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company quadrupled its security spending for 2024, even

though the dollar figure is relatively small at nearly $103,000 for CEO Joaquin Duato's personal

and home security services.

Between 2020 and 2024, expenses for a company car and driver were capped below $25,000 and

it reimbursed "limited home security system-related fees" in prior years.

Similarly, Lilly introduced security services for top executives in 2024 for the first time,

its regulatory filing showed on Friday. "These (security) costs are appropriate and necessary

considering the current threat landscape," the company said.

Lilly spent $73,630 for security services for CEO David Ricks in 2024, the first time it has

disclosed such costs in its proxy. The Indianapolis-based company did not respond to a request

for comment.

Shortly after Thompson's murder, health insurers removed pictures of their executives from

corporate websites. In January, organizers at a major San Francisco healthcare meeting stepped

up security for attendees inside and outside the venue.

In previous years, companies in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors have generally

compensated the use of private jets and limited compensation related to security, according to

older filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.