What Is Amelia Risk?
Amelia Risk is a San Francisco brokerage for startups, CPG and consumer-product companies that want an advisor to shop multiple insurers; buyers seeking a direct online purchase should look elsewhere. Ask about fees before appointing it. 1,2,3
What Is Nationwide?
Nationwide’s commercial catalogue includes common small-business policies and separate specialty products. A catalogue listing does not establish eligibility or policy terms; confirm the issuing company and coverage for your state and business. 10,11,12
What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?
D&O insurance can help pay covered defense costs and losses from claims against company leaders over management decisions. If your organization has a board or executives, check whether the company itself is insured and whether legal bills reduce the limit. 14,15,16
Key Differences in D&O Insurance
Amelia Risk Connects D&O Timing to Fundraising
Amelia Risk says most companies consider D&O after outside funding, Series A term sheets usually require it, and some companies now buy at seed as rounds grow larger. Nationwide describes D&O for claims tied to director and officer decisions or wrongful acts but does not give funding-stage examples. Founders approaching a round can use Amelia’s guidance to start early, then ask both providers when coverage must begin to satisfy investor terms. 6 13
Amelia Risk Describes Protection for Individuals, Board and Entity
Amelia says the D&O policies it places can cover individual directors and officers, the board and the company entity, with claims commonly involving mismanagement and often shareholders. Nationwide’s overview refers to claims tied to alleged decisions or wrongful acts by directors and officers but does not break out insured persons and entity coverage. Request each policy’s Side A, Side B and Side C grants and identify who qualifies as an insured. 4 13
Amelia Risk Advises Against Waiting Until a Transaction Is Imminent
Amelia’s co-founder says underwriting can take days to weeks once complete information is provided and recommends budgeting two to three weeks; she warns that claims-made policies do not cover decisions made before the policy starts. Nationwide directs buyers to an agent or quote request without publishing a D&O timeline. Start both conversations before a funding or transaction deadline and confirm the proposed retroactive date and continuity terms. 5 13
What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes
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.
Amelia Risk
Review Score
1 rated source
Amelia Risk’s only matched public rating is 1/5 from one Google-linked local listing. That is a warning to investigate, but too little feedback to judge the firm’s overall service.[7]
Read Amelia Risk reviewsNationwide
Review Score
4 rated sources
Experts like Nationwide more than customers do. NerdWallet gives it 4.5 out of 5 for business insurance, while small-business customers on ConsumerAffairs give it 2.5 out of 5 from 19 reviews.[1][10]
Read Nationwide reviewsOffering Details
Amelia Risk vs Nationwide: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Amelia Risk Directors & Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance Brokerage | Nationwide directors officers (official overview) |
|---|---|---|
| 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. 4Company-reported. D&O product page as of 23 September 2026. Does not establish who issues a particular client's policy. | Nationwide describes offering directors officers for the audience stated on the cited product page. 13Company-reported. directors officers marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement. |
| Issuing Insurer | 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. | Confirm in your quote. |
| Who It’s For | 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. | Businesses and directors/officers described by Nationwide; page does not establish universal limits or terms. 13Company-reported. directors officers marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement. |
| 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. 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. | The cited product page describes D&O insurance for claims tied to alleged decisions or wrongful acts by company directors and officers, subject to policy terms. Marketing description only; actual coverage, exclusions, conditions, limits, and availability depend on the issued policy and jurisdiction. 13Company-reported. directors officers marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement. |
| Limits and Retentions | Confirm in your quote. | The cited overview does not set a universal limit or retention for this line. Ask for the proposed policy form, limits, retentions, exclusions, and conditions in the quote. 13Not publicly disclosed. Only the cited marketing page was reviewed for published limit and retention information; no policy-form entitlement is inferred. |
| Risk Services | 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. | Confirm in your quote. |
| 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. 5Company-reported. Illustrative timing comment in a company-hosted podcast interview, not a binding service-level agreement. | The page directs prospective customers to contact an agent or request a quote. The page does not establish a quote, bind, or coverage-effective timeline. 13Company-reported. directors officers marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement. |
Full Comparison
More Amelia Risk vs Nationwide Comparisons
Other D&O Insurance Comparisons
Sources
Amelia Risk
- Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Who is Amelia?; specialty tiles for startups, CPG, technology, and consumer products; schema.org Organization name and logo; footer locations San Francisco and East Bay; Client Login Portal, Pay Now, and Privacy links; official logo asset. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Our Specialties. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Narrow industry-vertical focus; underwriters, brokers, and carrier partners; four-step process; claims advocacy sentence; specialty sections for startups, CPG, technology, and consumer products. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- About Us. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Opening brokerage description; How we're different (no multiple PDFs to print, sign, and scan); We do the right thing (underwriters, wholesale brokers, and strategic partners). Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Directors and Officers Liability. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; What's covered by a Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) Policy?; When should a company buy a Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) Policy? Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Podcast Episode – Beyond The Certificate With Startup CPG. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Danielle Holyoake (CRO and co-founder) on D&O: why it comes up during fundraising, who it protects, when claims typically arise, underwriting timing of days to a few weeks with complete information, budgeting two to three weeks, and the caution against waiting until a transaction is imminent. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Insurance For Startups. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Insurance policies for startups to consider: Directors & Officers Liability (D&O). Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Insurance For Technology Companies. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Insurance policies for tech companies to consider: Directors & Officers Liability (D&O). Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Insurance For CPG Companies. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Insurance policies for CPG companies to consider: Directors & Officers Liability (D&O). Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Consumer Product Insurance. Amelia Risk Insurance Brokers; Insurance policies for Consumer Product companies to consider: Directors & Officers Liability (D&O). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Nationwide
- Small Business Insurance. Nationwide; Small business products and solutions, lines 185–214: BOP, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, umbrella, EPLI, cyber and surety; purchase guidance lines 235–247. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Small Business Insurance Solutions for Agents. Nationwide; Specialized small commercial solutions: BOP, auto, workers’ compensation, cyber, EPLI, umbrella, inland marine and professional liability; page states appetite varies by state, lines 129–163, 191–193. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Terms and Conditions for Nationwide.com. Nationwide; P&C products not offered by all companies/states; policy/declarations control; NMI and affiliates may underwrite; each underwriter responsible for own products, lines 358–368 and 391–394. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Directors and Officers Liability. Nationwide; D&O page; management-liability product and covered exposures. Accessed 2026-09-30.
D&O Insurance Guide
- Glossary of Business Insurance Terms. The Hartford; Directors and Officers Liability Insurance; Errors and Omissions Insurance; Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- The Chubb Primary Directors & Officers and Entity Securities Liability Insurance. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies; hosted by eperils; I.A–C p.1; I.C p.1; I and III.A–B pp.1–2; VI Reporting pp.3–4. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Private Company Directors and Officers Liability Coverage. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; I.A–C p.1; I.C p.1; Header p.1 and VI.A pp.6–7. Accessed 2026-09-16.






