Amelia Risk vs Beazley: How Do They Compare for D&O Insurance?

Amelia Risk arranges D&O and advises startups to plan ahead of funding; Beazley insures private-company policies up to $20 million and offers a choice between defense and pay-on-behalf structures.

Amelia Risk is a broker for startups, tech and consumer brands that advises buying D&O before your Series A closes; Beazley is the insurer itself, selling private-company D&O up to US $20 million. Beazley publishes its limit and defense options; Amelia Risk publishes neither. ^1,^2,^7,⁸

What Are the Key Differences Between Amelia Risk and Beazley D&O Insurance?

Funding-Round Broker vs Insurer With a $20M Ceiling

Amelia Risk says Series A term sheets usually require D&O and that seed-stage buyers are increasingly common; it arranges the policy with carriers rather than writing it. Beazley writes private-company D&O itself, standalone or inside ExecuGuard with employment practices and fiduciary cover, with limits up to US $20 million. Choose Amelia Risk if you're a startup or consumer brand raising a round and want a broker to run the placement; choose Beazley if you need a known limit up to $20 million from the insurer directly. ¹ ² ⁷ ⁸

Who Controls Your Defense

Beazley lets you choose duty to defend (it runs the defense) or pay on behalf (you pick counsel and it pays), and says it pays 100% of defense costs for covered loss. Amelia Risk's materials don't describe a defense structure, so ask which one each quote uses. ⁷ ¹

Timeline to Bind

Amelia Risk's co-founder says underwriting takes a few days to a few weeks once your information is complete, and advises budgeting two to three weeks before a round closes; a claims-made policy won't cover decisions made before it starts. Beazley's pages give no timeline. ² ⁷

What Should You Confirm in Amelia Risk and Beazley D&O Insurance Quotes?

Ask Beazley whether the quote is duty to defend or pay on behalf, and whether Excess Side A is attached. ⁷
Ask Beazley whether your quoted limit reaches its advertised $20 million maximum, and whether the policy is admitted or non-admitted. ⁷ ⁸
Ask Amelia Risk which insurer would issue the policy; its pages don't name one. ¹
Start with Amelia Risk at least two to three weeks before your round closes. ²

Amelia Risk vs Beazley D&O Insurance Compared

Amelia Risk vs Beazley: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider

Criteria	Amelia Risk Directors & Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance Brokerage	Beazley D&O – Private Companies
Who It’s For	Amelia Risk lists D&O among the policies it places for startups, technology companies, CPG brands, and consumer-product companies. ^3,^4,^5,⁶Company-reported. Specialty pages' "policies to consider" lists, marketed segments rather than an underwriting appetite statement. Amelia Risk says most companies consider D&O once they've taken outside funding, that Series A term sheets usually require it, and that it's becoming more common to see D&O bought at the seed stage as seed rounds grow larger. ^1,²Company-reported. D&O product page timing guidance, restated in more detail by co-founder Danielle Holyoake in the company's podcast episode.	The D&O page targets privately held companies of all sizes facing litigation such as employment allegations, fraud and misrepresentation claims, without a stated employee-count or revenue threshold on that page. ^7,⁸Company-reported. Private-company D&O only; ExecuGuard buyers can additionally choose to share limits across D&O, EPL and fiduciary coverages.
How to Apply	Amelia's co-founder says D&O underwriting can take as little as a few days to a few weeks once complete information is provided, and recommends budgeting two to three weeks; she also cautions founders not to wait until a funding round or other transaction is imminent, because decisions made before a claims-made D&O policy starts aren't covered by it. ²Company-reported. Illustrative timing comment in a company-hosted podcast interview, not a binding service-level agreement.	Beazley lists a downloadable EPL renewal application as a tool on the D&O page and names regional Executive Risk underwriters and brokers as contacts, but the reviewed page does not describe a self-service online quoting flow for new D&O business. ⁷Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page as read on 2026-09-23; buyers typically work through a broker or underwriter contact.
Coverage Features	Amelia describes the D&O policy as covering the individual directors and officers, the board, and the entity, with claims typically alleging mismanagement and most often coming from shareholders, though they can also come from regulators, competitors, or employees. ¹Company-reported. D&O product page description; the actual policy wording, definitions, and exclusions depend on the issuing insurer and the client's declarations. In the company's podcast, co-founder Danielle Holyoake says the D&O policies she has reviewed and sold generally define "directors and officers" broadly enough to include employees and even interns, rather than naming specific individuals on the policy. ²Company-reported. Her description of policies she has personally reviewed and sold, not a specimen form or a statement about every D&O policy Amelia places.	The D&O product lets the policyholder choose between a "duty to defend" or "pay on behalf" claim-handling structure, and Beazley says it pays 100% of defense costs for covered loss. ⁷Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page; actual defense obligations and cost-sharing are set by the issued policy. Beazley offers a dedicated additional Excess Side A limit for individual directors and officers, plus an optional employed-lawyers errors-and-omissions extension. ⁷Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page; availability and pricing of the extension depend on underwriting.
Role in This Line	Amelia Risk arranges D&O liability coverage for clients, describing and structuring the policy around protecting individual directors and officers, the board, and the company entity, rather than underwriting it directly. ¹Company-reported. D&O product page as of 23 September 2026. Does not establish who issues a particular client's policy.	Beazley underwrites private-company directors and officers (D&O) liability itself, offered as a standalone product on its D&O - Private Companies page and bundled with employment practices and fiduciary liability coverage in its ExecuGuard package policy. ^7,⁸Company-reported. US private-company D&O as described on the two reviewed product pages; does not establish which entity issues a particular policy.