AIG vs Founder Shield: How Do They Compare for Employment Practices Liability Insurance?

Founder Shield describes EPLI for first-time hiring startups, nonprofits, and other sectors, while AIG lists applications for private companies, nonprofits, and financial institutions. 3,9

What Is AIG?

AIG is the marketing name for American International Group, Inc.; AIG says its insurance products are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates. Its U.S. business pages list commercial casualty, property, cyber, management and professional liability, and specialty programs, but a brand-level page does not identify the insurer for a particular policy. 1,2

Read the AIG profile

Read the AIG Employment Practices Liability Insurance page

What Is Founder Shield Insurance?

Founder Shield is a broker for venture-backed startups: you apply online in under 15 minutes, and an advisor shops its 200+ carrier markets to build a program that changes as your products and locations change. It doesn't insure you itself, so ask which insurer carries each policy. 4,5,6,7,8

Read the Founder Shield profile

Read the Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance page

What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?

EPLI can help pay covered defense costs and losses when applicants or workers allege discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination or other workplace wrongdoing. If you employ people, check the claim definition, defense costs and prior acts. 11,12,13

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Organization Types and Placement

Founder Shield markets EPLI to startups hiring their first employees, as well as retail, hospitality, technology, professional-services, and nonprofit organizations. It approaches third-party carriers on the buyer’s behalf rather than underwriting. AIG lists EPL applications for private companies, nonprofits, and financial institutions and says a quote may be standalone or packaged. A founder hiring a first team can request Founder Shield’s placement, while a financial institution should ask AIG which application and underwriting route fits. 9 3

Allegations and Limits to Confirm

Both companies describe employment-related claims: Founder Shield lists defense costs, settlements, judgments, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; AIG names discrimination, harassment, and wrongful retaliation. Founder Shield says it places coverage with carriers rated A- or better but does not name the insurer for a particular policy, while AIG asks buyers to confirm the named insurer and form. Compare the issued wording and carrier on each proposal. 9 3

What to Confirm in Employment Practices Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Ask Founder Shield which carrier will issue the policy and what limit and retention it proposes. 6
  • Ask AIG whether EPL is standalone or packaged and identify the named policy issuer. 3

Review Scores

These averages can combine ratings for different products, locations, and customer groups, including approximate BBB grade conversions. Read each review for the sources, scope, and calculation.

AIG

4.4/ 10

Review Score

2 rated sources

Customer ratings for AIG are low: Trustpilot shows 1.9 out of 5 from 252 reviews, and NerdWallet gives 2.5 stars and notes more claims complaints than expected. These pages cover many AIG products and countries, so they only loosely describe business insurance.[1][2]

Read AIG reviews

Founder Shield

7.4/ 10

Review Score

1 rated source

Founder Shield has too little independent customer feedback for a reliable verdict. One positive Trustpilot review does not establish a service track record.[1][4]

Read Founder Shield reviews

Offering Details

AIG vs Founder Shield: Employment Practices Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaAIG Employment Practices Liability InsuranceFounder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Role in This Line

AIG markets Employment Edge and employment-practices liability options within its Financial Lines portfolio. A particular quote may use a standalone or package form; confirm the named insurer and form. 3Company-reported. Role in this product is limited to the description on the linked AIG source.

Founder Shield is a retail insurance brokerage, described on its site as “the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group,” and places Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance with third-party carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. 10Company-reported. About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line.

Founder Shield says EPLI is often purchased standalone but is sometimes packaged with Directors & Officers coverage, since employee-related suits frequently name corporate officers personally. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page.

Issuing Insurer

Confirm in your quote.

Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance, only with carriers rated A- or better by AM Best, chosen for the client's industry. It does not name the issuing insurer for this line; that depends on which carrier the policy is placed with. 6Company-reported. General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements.

Who It’s For

AIG presents Employment Edge for employers and also lists EPL applications for private companies, nonprofits and financial institutions. The public page does not state a complete eligibility or jurisdiction schedule. 3Company-reported. Audience is the segment AIG names on the linked source; this is not an underwriting decision, quote or guarantee of availability.

Founder Shield markets EPLI to startups hiring their first employees, retail and hospitality businesses with high turnover, professional-services firms, technology companies, and non-profits with volunteers. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page.

Coverage Features

AIG describes protection against specified employment-practices claims, including discrimination, harassment and wrongful-retaliation allegations. The cited page’s examples are not a grant of buyer-specific policy coverage. 3Company-reported. AIG’s public product description is not the policy. Actual entitlement depends on the applicable issued form, endorsements and declarations.

Founder Shield lists defense costs, settlements and judgments, and claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation as what EPLI responds to. 9Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

Limits and Retentions

No buyer-specific limit, retention or deductible can be determined from the public overview. Confirm those values and any sublimits in the quote and issued policy. 3Not publicly disclosed. This statement reports only what the linked public source discloses and does not substitute for a quote or issued policy.

Confirm in your quote.

Risk Services

AIG describes underwriting, claims and risk-management expertise for employment-practices exposures. Its product resources include applications and loss-prevention material; account-specific service is not specified. 3Company-reported. The linked page describes company-reported support; specific account services and third-party arrangements must be confirmed.

Confirm in your quote.

How to Apply

Confirm in your quote.

You request Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance through Founder Shield's website or an insurance advisor rather than binding coverage directly; Founder Shield says its placement team then approaches carriers on the client's behalf. 10,6Company-reported. About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form.

Full Comparison

More AIG vs Founder Shield Comparisons

Other Employment Practices Liability Insurance Comparisons

Sources

AIG

  1. Investor Relations. American International Group, Inc. (AIG); About AIG and legal footer; lines 244–246 and 327–331. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. Business. AIG US; Surplus Lines heading and paragraph, lines 357–359. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Employment Practices Liability Insurance. AIG; Official AIG Employment Practices Liability page: Employment Edge product, covered employment-claim categories, employer audience, policy options, risk-management and claims services; see its linked forms and policy caveat. Accessed 2026-09-30.

Founder Shield

  1. Founder Shield. Founder Shield; Opening broker description; Specialized Practices; Smart Tech, Smarter People; quote and sign-in links. Accessed 2026-09-15.
  2. Startup Insurance. Founder Shield; What Coverage Does your Startup Need?; Why Startups Choose Founder Shield; Industries We Serve; Essential Policies to Consider section. Accessed 2026-09-15.
  3. How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach? Founder Shield; FAQ answer on carrier selection: works exclusively with A-rated (AM Best) carriers, matched by industry appetite. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  4. What If Our Company Grows A Lot or Things Change During the Year? Founder Shield; Carl Niedbala answer, November 25, 2024: operational changes and coverage adjustments. Accessed 2026-09-15.
  5. Terms of Service. Founder Shield; Opening agreement; License Status; Representations and Disclaimers Related to Products or Services; Fees and Charges; Void Where Prohibited. Accessed 2026-09-15.
  6. Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Founder Shield; What Is EPL Insurance?; Who Needs EPL Insurance Coverage?; What Does EPL Insurance Cover? Accessed 2026-09-23.
  7. About Us. Founder Shield; “Founder Shield is the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group”; company history and mission. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance Guide

  1. Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Insurance Information Institute; Opening; What EPLI covers; Steps to limit employment liability risk. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Employment Practices Liability Coverage. Travelers; I.A/II.A p.1; III.A.4–6 p.7; II.F Employment Claim, PDF p.2; I.B p.1; II.U–V p.5; II.L p.3; III.A.9 and A.13, pp.7–8; III.B.2 p.8; IV.A Settlement, PDF pp.8–9. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Liability Coverage Terms and Conditions. Travelers; III.F–H p.6; III.O pp.8–9; III.F p.6; III.B–D, PDF pp.3–5; III.E–F, PDF pp.5–6. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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