Alliance Risk vs 
USI Insurance Services: How Do They Compare for D&O Insurance?
USI Insurance Services brokers D&O through ExecuSafe and a technology practice spanning seed to IPO; Alliance Risk publishes indicative D&O pricing and offers a free policy review.
Alliance Risk publishes sample Side A limits and premiums and reviews your current D&O for gaps at no charge. USI targets small and midsize businesses and adds ExecuSafe, its own package of policy endorsements, to D&O it places. 1,3,4
What Are the Key Differences Between Alliance Risk and USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance?
Gap Review vs Extra Endorsements on Your Policy
Both are brokers that review your existing coverage and shop it. Alliance Risk looks for Side A/B/C gaps and missing endorsements, then goes to management-liability specialists. 1 USI does a similar gap review, and its difference is ExecuSafe: endorsements it adds to the policy it places, so the wording you get can be broader than the insurer's standard form. 3 Choose USI if you're a small or midsize business buying D&O for the first time or with thin limits; choose Alliance Risk if you're venture-backed, heading to M&A or an IPO, or want sample pricing before you engage. 3 1
Who Each Broker Targets
USI says many small and midsize businesses skip D&O or buy too little, which is who ExecuSafe is for. Its Technology practice separately handles tech clients and cites a case where benchmarking changed a software company's limit. 3 4 Alliance Risk lists venture-backed and public companies, fintech, healthcare, real estate, financial services, nonprofits and small private companies without outside investors. 1
Price Signals and How You Start
Alliance Risk's sample Side A figures let you sanity-check a quote; you then fill in a structured quote file. 1 USI publishes no limits or prices of its own, only a 2016 Chubb survey and a $450,000 average claim cost. You start by emailing its Select Business team, or the Technology and Business Services team or a local office. 3 5
What Should You Confirm in Alliance Risk and USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance Quotes?
- Ask USI which ExecuSafe endorsements attach to the proposed policy and what each one adds. 3
- Ask Alliance Risk to run its free Side A/B/C review on that same policy. 1
- If you're a tech company, ask USI's Technology practice to benchmark your limit. 4
- Neither broker names its insurers, so get the issuing insurer on both quotes. 1 3
Alliance Risk vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance Compared
Alliance Risk vs USI Insurance Services: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Alliance Risk Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance | USI ExecuSafe Directors & Officers Liability Program |
|---|---|---|
| Who It’s For | Alliance Risk says D&O is relevant to venture-backed and public companies, high-risk industries such as fintech, healthcare, real estate and financial services, companies going through M&A, IPO or leadership changes, nonprofits, and small private companies without outside investors. 1Company-reported. D&O product page; eligibility for a particular company depends on underwriting. Alliance Risk says a company should turn on D&O coverage at its first priced funding round, because institutional investment brings personal exposure for directors and officers from day one. 2Company-reported. Management liability page's program-staging guidance, describing D&O specifically among the three bundled lines. | USI targets small- and medium-sized businesses for ExecuSafe, saying many either skip D&O coverage or buy insufficient limits because their brokers do not help them identify the exposure. Its Technology practice separately places D&O for software, hardware and communications clients from seed stage through IPO. 3,4Company-reported. ExecuSafe article eligibility framing and Technology practice client description. |
| How to Apply | For a D&O quote, Alliance Risk asks for company revenue, industry and stage, board composition, investor structure, current D&O coverage and carrier, five-year claims history and upcoming events such as M&A or an IPO, and says it typically delivers proposals within a few business days. 1Company-reported. D&O product page, What We Need for Your Quote section; timing is a company estimate, not a guarantee. | USI directs small- and medium-sized businesses interested in ExecuSafe to email Select.Business@usi.com; its Technology and Business Services practices separately route inquiries to pcinquiries@usi.com or a local USI office. 3,4,5Company-reported. Contact instructions on the ExecuSafe article and the Technology and Business Services pages. |
| Coverage Features | Alliance Risk describes D&O policies it places as having three parts: Side A for individual directors and officers when the company cannot indemnify them, Side B reimbursing the company for indemnification costs, and Side C covering the company directly for certain liabilities. 1Company-reported. D&O product page; actual policy structure and whether sides are combined or separately limited depend on the carrier and the policy as issued. Alliance Risk lists standard D&O exclusions it sees, including fraud and intentional misconduct, criminal acts, bodily injury and property damage, and often prior acts before the policy started; it says employment practices and ERISA benefit-plan claims are typically excluded and need separate EPLI or fiduciary liability coverage. 1Company-reported. D&O product page; exclusion wording varies by carrier and the policy as issued. | USI says D&O insurance is meant to protect a company's leadership from personal loss in a lawsuit, since the corporate veil does not shield directors and officers from personal liability for the business's actions and debts. It lists breach of contract, breach of duty, misrepresentation, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, securities lawsuits and creditor lawsuits as common claim types the coverage responds to. 3Company-reported. ExecuSafe article's description of D&O purpose and claim types; actual insuring agreements and exclusions are set by the issued policy. |
| Role in This Line | Alliance Risk places D&O insurance as a broker: it reviews a company's existing D&O program and markets the risk to carriers that specialize in management liability. 1Company-reported. D&O product page; Alliance Risk does not underwrite the policy itself. | USI is a broker for D&O coverage. It says it helps clients identify D&O exposures, review any existing management liability policies for gaps, and place coverage, including through its own named endorsement package, ExecuSafe. 3Company-reported. ExecuSafe article's "How USI Can Help" section. |
| Risk Services | Alliance Risk offers a no-charge review of an existing D&O policy, identifying gaps in the Side A/B/C structure and missing endorsements and comparing the program to market options. 1Company-reported. D&O product page, Get Your D&O Risk Review section. | USI's Technology practice cites a case study where its benchmarking analysis showed a software company was buying more D&O limit than peers with similar risk profiles, and says the resulting change saved the client more than $100,000 per year in D&O premium. 4Company-reported. Single case study on the Technology practice page; company-reported outcome, not independently verified. |
