AIG vs Founder Shield: How Do They Compare for Fidelity Bonds?

Founder Shield describes ERISA bond requirements tied to plan assets, including statutory minimum and maximum amounts; AIG addresses broader financial-institution bond scenarios. 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 Fidelity Bonds 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 Fidelity Bonds page

What Are Fidelity Bonds?

Fidelity coverage can reimburse certain losses when employees steal money or property they handle. If employees manage company funds, customer property or benefit-plan assets, identify each owner and compare the required protection for each interest. 11,12,13

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Fidelity Bonds

ERISA Plan Bonding and Financial Institution Losses

Founder Shield places ERISA Fidelity Bonds for plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and others handling plan funds, describing theft, forgery, misappropriation, and embezzlement exposures. It explains statutory bonding amounts as a percentage of plan funds handled, with minimum and maximum requirements, including a higher cap for plans holding employer securities. AIG’s Financial Institution Bond materials instead list bank-focused employee dishonesty, forgery, computer fraud, and impersonation scenarios. These products answer different buyer needs, so match the bond to the obligation and organization. 9 3

Placement and Carrier Identification

Founder Shield arranges the ERISA bond through third-party carriers and does not name the issuer for an individual placement. AIG lists applications by financial-institution type but does not publish a standard bond amount or deductible. Buyers should confirm the issuing entity, amount, covered handlers, and any required obligee language; the statutory ERISA minimum described by Founder Shield is not a quote-specific guarantee. 9 3

What to Confirm in Fidelity Bonds Quotes

  • Ask Founder Shield how it calculates the required amount from plan assets and which carrier will issue the ERISA bond. 9
  • Ask AIG which institution bond form, amount, deductible, and issuing entity fit your organization. 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: Fidelity Bonds: documented features by provider

CriteriaAIG Financial Institution Fidelity BondsFounder Shield ERISA Fidelity Bond
Role in This Line

AIG markets Financial Institution Bonds separately from commercial-entity Crime Insurance. This draft covers the named bond family only and does not treat the crime policy as a fidelity bond. 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 ERISA Fidelity Bond 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.

Issuing Insurer

Confirm in your quote.

Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield ERISA Fidelity Bond, 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 names banks, non-bank lenders, asset managers and insurance companies as financial-institution bond audiences. The page does not establish eligibility for a specific entity or jurisdiction. 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 says this bond is required for plan sponsors offering a retirement plan, the fiduciaries who manage it, third-party administrators, and even small businesses with a simple 401(k). 9Company-reported. ERISA Fidelity Bond product page.

Coverage Features

AIG lists employee dishonesty, theft on premises, forgery, computer-systems fraud and impersonation fraud among financial-institution bond coverage examples. These examples are subject to the actual bond form and do not define all terms. 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 theft and embezzlement of plan assets, forgery, misappropriation and larceny by those who handle a benefit plan's funds as what an ERISA fidelity bond covers. 9Company-reported. Product page; the issued bond and its terms control actual coverage.

Limits and Retentions

The reviewed pages do not state a standard bond amount or buyer-specific deductible. Confirm the bond form, amount and conditions with AIG for the particular institution. 3Not publicly disclosed. This statement reports only what the linked public source discloses and does not substitute for a quote or issued policy.

Founder Shield's page states the federal ERISA bonding requirement: at least 10% of plan funds handled, with a minimum bond of $1,000 and a maximum of $500,000 (up to $1 million for plans holding employer securities). This is the statutory minimum, not a Founder Shield-specific limit. 9Company-reported. Product page describing the ERISA statutory bonding requirement.

Risk Services

AIG describes dedicated underwriting and claims teams for its crime and fidelity offerings. The application directory includes distinct fidelity applications by financial-institution type; this is an application path, not a bound bond. 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 ERISA Fidelity Bond 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 Fidelity Bonds 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. Crime and Fidelity Insurance. AIG; Official AIG page, lines 257–275 and 353–354: separate Financial Institution Bonds section, named financial-institution audience and example covered losses; policy/state availability caveat. AIG’s Financial Lines Applications directory separately lists institution-specific fidelity applications. 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. ERISA Fidelity Bond. Founder Shield; What Is ERISA Fidelity Bond Insurance?; Who Needs ERISA Fidelity Bond Insurance Coverage?; What Does ERISA Fidelity Bond 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.

Fidelity Bonds Guide

  1. Glossary of Insurance Terms. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Fidelity; Surety Bond. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2008-04: Guidance Regarding ERISA Fidelity Bonding Requirements. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Q1–Q3 pp.2–3; Q2 pp.2–3. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Crime Terms and Conditions. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; I.A.1–3 p.1; III.S pp.8–9; V.B.1–2 pp.18–20; CRI consideration p.1; III.P p.8; V.A.3 pp.16–17; V.A.4 p.17; V.B.3 p.20; IV.L p.15. 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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