<PAGE>

                                                                   Exhibit 10.24

                              VALIDUS HOLDINGS LTD.
                        DIRECTORS STOCK COMPENSATION PLAN

          1.   PURPOSES.

          The purposes of this Validus Holdings Ltd. Directors Stock
Compensation Plan are to advance the interests of Validus Holdings Ltd. and its
shareholders by providing a means to attract, retain and motivate members of the
Board of Directors of Validus Holdings Ltd. upon whose judgment, initiative and
efforts the continued success, growth and development of Validus Holdings Ltd.
is dependent.

          2.   DEFINITIONS.

          For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall be defined as set
forth below:

          (a) "Board" means the Board of Directors of the Company.

          (b) "Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from
time to time. References to any provision of the Code shall be deemed to include
successor provisions thereto and regulations thereunder.

          (c) "Company" means Validus Holdings Ltd., a corporation organized
under the laws of Bermuda, or any successor corporation.

          (d) "Director" means a non-employee member of the Board.

          (e) "Fair Market Value" means, with respect to Shares on any day, the
following:

          (i) If the Shares are at the time listed or admitted to trading on any
     stock exchange, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling
     price per share of Shares on the date in question on the stock exchange
     which is the primary market for the Shares, as such price is officially
     quoted on such exchange. If there is no reported sale of Shares on such
     exchange on such date, then the Fair Market Value shall be the closing
     selling price on the exchange on the last preceding date for which such
     quotation exists; and

          (ii) If the Shares are not at the time listed or admitted to trading
     on any stock exchange but are traded in the over-the-counter market, the
     Fair Market Value shall be the closing selling price per share of Shares on
     the date in question, as such

<PAGE>

     price is reported by the National Association of Securities Dealers through
     the NASDAQ National Market System or any successor system. If there is no
     reported closing selling price for Shares on such date, then the closing
     selling price on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists
     shall be determinative of Fair Market Value.

          (f) "Participant" means a Director who has elected to receive Shares
or defer compensation under the Plan.

          (g) "Plan" means this Validus Holdings Ltd. Directors Stock
Compensation Plan, as amended from time to time.

          (h) "Plan Year" means the calendar year.

          (i) "Shares" means common shares, $0.10 par value per share, of the
Company, [and such other securities as may be substituted for Shares pursuant to
Section 4(b) hereof].

          3.   ADMINISTRATION.

          The Plan shall be administered by the Board. Subject to the express
provisions of the Plan, the Board shall have full and exclusive authority to
interpret the Plan, to make all determinations with respect to the Plan, to
prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to the Plan, and to
make all other determinations necessary or advisable in the implementation and
administration of the Plan. The Board's interpretation and construction of the
Plan shall be conclusive and binding on all persons.

          4.   SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.

          (a) Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 6(g), the total
number of Shares reserved for issuance under the Plan shall be 100,000.

          (b) Any Shares issued hereunder may consist, in whole or in part, of
authorized and unissued Shares or treasury Shares, including Shares acquired by
purchase in the open market or in private transactions.

          5.   SHARE ELECTION.

          (a) Each Director may make an election in writing on or prior to each
December 31 to receive the Director's annual retainer fees payable in the
following Plan Year in the form of Shares instead of cash. Unless the Director
makes a deferral election pursuant to Section 6 below, any Shares elected shall
be distributed at the time cash retainer fees are otherwise payable. The number
of Shares distributed shall be equal to the amount of the


                                       -2-

<PAGE>

annual retainer fee otherwise payable on such payment date divided by 100% the
Fair Market Value of a Share on such payment date. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, a Director who is first elected or appointed to the Board may make an
election under this Section 5 within 30 days after such election or appointment
to the Board in respect of annual retainer fees for services to be performed by
the Director subsequent to the election. Any election made under this Section 5
shall remain in effect for all future Plan Years until changed in writing, which
change shall apply prospectively to the Plan Year beginning after the date of
the written change of election. Elections shall be made hereunder when delivered
in writing to the person designated from time to time by the Company to receive
the elections.

          6.   DEFERRAL ELECTION.

          (a) A Director who has elected to receive Shares pursuant to Section 5
above may make an irrevocable election on or before the December 31 immediately
preceding the beginning of a Plan Year of the Company, by written notice to the
Company, to defer delivery of all or a designated percentage of the Shares
otherwise payable as his or her annual retainer for service as a Director for
the Plan Year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Director who is first elected or
appointed to the Board may make a deferral election under this Section 6(a)
within 30 days after such election or appointment to the Board in respect of
annual retainer fees for services to be performed by the Director subsequent to
the election.

          (b) Deferrals of Shares hereunder shall continue until the Director
notifies the Company in writing, on or prior to the December 31 immediately
preceding the commencement of any Plan Year, that he wishes to change his
election hereunder for such Plan Year and subsequent Plan Years.

          (c) All Shares which a Director elects to defer pursuant to this
Section 6 shall be credited in the form of Share units to a bookkeeping account
maintained by the Company in the name of the Director. Each such Share unit
shall represent the right to receive one Share at the time determined pursuant
to the terms of the Plan.

          (d) As of each date on which a cash dividend is paid on Shares, there
shall be credited to each account that number of Share units (including
fractional Share units) determined by: (i) multiplying the amount of such
dividend per Share by the number of Share units in such account; and (ii)
dividing the total so determined by the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date
of payment of such cash dividend. The additions to a Director's account pursuant
to this Section 6(d) shall continue until the Director's account is fully paid.

          (e) The account of a Director shall be distributed (in the form of one
Share for each Share unit) in a lump sum at the time of termination of the
Director's service on the Board.


                                       -3-

<PAGE>

          (f) The right of a Director to amounts described under this Section 6
shall not be subject to assignment or other disposition by him or her other than
by will or the laws of descent and distribution. In the event that,
notwithstanding this provision, a Director makes a prohibited disposition, the
Company may disregard the same and discharge its obligation hereunder by making
payment or delivery as though no such disposition had been made.

          (g) Adjustments. In the event that any dividend in Shares,
recapitalization, Share split, reverse split, reorganization, merger,
consolidation, spin-off, combination, repurchase, or Share exchange, or other
such change, affects the Shares such that they are increased or decreased or
changed into or exchanged for a different number or kind of Shares, other
securities of the Company or of another corporation or other consideration, then
in order to maintain the proportionate interest of the Directors and preserve
the value of the Directors' Share units, (i) there shall automatically be
substituted for each Share unit a new unit representing the number and kind of
Shares, other securities or other consideration into which each outstanding
Share shall be changed, and (ii) the number and kind of shares available for
issuance under the Plan shall be equitably adjusted in order to take into
account such transaction or other change. The substituted units shall be subject
to the same terms and conditions as the original Share units.

          7.   GENERAL PROVISIONS.

          (a) Compliance with Legal and Trading Requirements. The Plan shall be
subject to all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including, but not
limited to, federal and state laws, rules and regulations, and to such approvals
by any regulatory or governmental agency as may be required. The Company, in its
discretion, may postpone the issuance or delivery of Shares under the Plan until
completion of such stock exchange or market system listing or registration or
qualification of such Shares or other required action under any federal or state
law, rule or regulation or under laws, rules or regulations of other
jurisdictions as the Company may consider appropriate, and may require any
Participant to make such representations and furnish such information as it may
consider appropriate in connection with the issuance or delivery of Shares in
compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. No provisions of the
Plan shall be interpreted or construed to obligate the Company to register any
Shares under federal or state law or under the laws of other jurisdictions.

          (b) No Right to Continued Service. Neither the Plan nor any action
taken thereunder shall be construed as giving any Director the right to be
retained in the service of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates,
nor shall it interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any of its
subsidiaries or affiliates to terminate any Director's service at any time.


                                       -4-

<PAGE>

          (c) Taxes. The Company is authorized to withhold from any Shares
delivered under this Plan any amounts of withholding and other taxes due in
connection therewith, and to take such other action as the Company may deem
advisable to enable the Company and a Participant to satisfy obligations for the
payment of any withholding taxes and other tax obligations relating thereto.
This authority shall include authority to withhold or receive Shares or other
property and to make cash payments in respect thereof in satisfaction of a
Participant's tax obligations; provided, however, that the amount of tax
withholding to be satisfied by withholding Shares shall be limited to the
minimum amount of taxes required to be withheld under applicable law.

          (d) Amendment. The Board may amend, alter, suspend, discontinue, or
terminate the Plan without the consent of shareholders of the Company or
Participants, except that any such amendment, alteration, suspension,
discontinuation, or termination shall be subject to the approval of the
Company's shareholders if such shareholder approval is required by any federal
law or regulation or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation
system on which the Shares may then be listed or quoted; provided, however,
that, without the consent of an affected Participant, no amendment, alteration,
suspension, discontinuation or termination of the Plan may impair the rights or,
in any other manner, adversely affect the rights of such Participant under any
award theretofore granted to him or her or compensation previously deferred by
him or her hereunder.

          (e) Unfunded Status of Awards. The Plan is intended to constitute an
"unfunded" plan for incentive and deferred compensation. With respect to any
payments not yet made to a Participant pursuant to a deferral election, nothing
contained in the Plan shall give any such Participant any rights that are
greater than those of a general unsecured creditor of the Company; provided,
however, that the Company may authorize the creation of trusts or make other
arrangements to meet the Company's obligations under the Plan to deliver cash,
Shares, or other property pursuant to any award, which trusts or other
arrangements shall be consistent with the "unfunded" status of the Plan unless
the Company otherwise determines with the consent of each affected Participant.

          (f) Nonexclusivity of the Plan. Neither the adoption of the Plan by
the Board nor its submission to the shareholders of the Company for approval
shall be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board to
adopt such other compensation arrangements as it may deem desirable, and such
arrangements may be either applicable generally or only in specific cases.

          (g) No Fractional Shares. No fractional Shares shall be issued or
delivered pursuant to the Plan. Cash shall be paid in lieu of such fractional
Shares.


                                       -5-

<PAGE>

          (h) Governing Law. The validity, construction, and effect of the Plan
shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the State of New York,
without giving effect to principles of conflict of laws thereof.

          (i) Effective Date; Plan Termination. The Plan shall become effective
as of January 1, 2007 (the "Effective Date"), subject to approval by the
Shareholders of the Company. The Plan shall terminate as to future awards, at
such time as no Shares remain available for issuance pursuant to Section 4, and
the Company has no further obligations with respect to any compensation deferred
under the Plan.

          (j) Titles and Headings. The titles and headings of the Sections in
the Plan are for convenience of reference only. In the event of any conflict,
the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.


                                       -6-