Amelia Risk vs Founder Shield D&O Insurance

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. ⁴Company-reported. D&O product page as of 23 September 2026. Does not establish who issues a particular client's policy.

Founder Shield is a retail insurance brokerage, described on its site as “the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group,” and places Founder Shield Directors & Officers Insurance with third-party carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. ¹⁶Company-reported. About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line.

The reviewed pages do not name an insurer for D&O placements; Amelia's marketing describes access to underwriters, wholesale brokers and carrier partners generally, without attributing any of them to D&O specifically. ⁴Not publicly disclosed. D&O product page and podcast transcript, checked 23 September 2026.

Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield Directors & Officers 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. ¹²Company-reported. General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements.

Amelia Risk lists D&O among the policies it places for startups, technology companies, CPG brands, and consumer-product companies. ^6,7,8,9Company-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. ^4,5Company-reported. D&O product page timing guidance, restated in more detail by co-founder Danielle Holyoake in the company's podcast episode.

Founder Shield targets D&O at public and private businesses, venture-backed companies (it says almost every institutional term sheet requires the coverage), and businesses owing more than $1 million to creditors. ¹⁵Company-reported. Directors & Officers Insurance product page.

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. ⁴Company-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. ⁵Company-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.

Founder Shield describes a three-part structure: Side A pays individual directors/officers directly when the company cannot or will not indemnify them, Side B reimburses the company for indemnification it pays, and Side C provides entity coverage for the company itself. ¹⁵Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Founder Shield's page describes a typical market base layer of $5 million to $10 million in combined A-B-C coverage, but does not publish a specific limit Founder Shield itself offers; actual limits are set on the quote. ¹⁵Company-reported. General market description on the product page, not a stated Founder Shield minimum or maximum.

The reviewed D&O materials don't describe governance training, board-advisory services, or other risk-control services specific to D&O policyholders beyond the coverage description and general claims-advocacy language. ^4,5Not found in reviewed sources. D&O product page and podcast transcript as read on 23 September 2026; does not establish that no such services exist, only that these pages don't describe them.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

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. ⁵Company-reported. Illustrative timing comment in a company-hosted podcast interview, not a binding service-level agreement.

You request Founder Shield Directors & Officers 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. ^16,12Company-reported. About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form.