What Is Aon?
Aon’s U.S. Commercial Risk terms describe brokerage for certain insurance programs, while its Middle Market page describes a dedicated practice for mid-sized organizations across North America. The public materials reviewed do not identify the licensed producer or insurer for a particular placement. Ask which entity will produce each line and which insurer will issue the policy; request jurisdiction details for the proposed placement and ask how compensation and claim notice work for your account. 1,2
What Is StartupInsurance.ai?
StartupInsurance.ai fits startups, including hardware, robotics and AI companies, that must meet a customer-contract or investor insurance requirement and want a free policy review it says takes 48 hours. Look elsewhere if you need a named AI-failure insurer or a documented claims advocate before you buy. 4,5
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. 8,9,10
Key Differences in D&O Insurance
Startup Access and Company Stage
StartupInsurance.ai targets founder-led companies and routes D&O prospects through a digital quote intake. Aon describes D&O services across public and private companies without a startup-specific application path. A founder can compare the digital route with Aon’s market search, then confirm which carriers consider the company’s financing and board profile. 3 5
Coverage Structure and Placement
Aon explains Side A, B and C protection; StartupInsurance.ai describes its startup D&O process and policy-check service. The quote must establish entity coverage, securities treatment, limits and issuing insurer. Ask what the policy check reviews and compare it with Aon’s proposed carrier form. 3 5
What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes
- Ask StartupInsurance.ai which carriers and funding stages fit its route; ask Aon for insurer, Side A/B/C limits and exclusions. 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.
Aon
Review Score
3 rated sources
Public ratings for Aon are low: Trustpilot shows 1.2 out of 5 from 782 reviews, and BBB shows 1.6 from five. Aon is a global firm, so those pages mostly reflect other parts of the business, not large U.S. commercial accounts.[4][6][7]
Read Aon reviewsStartupInsurance.ai
Review Score
No reviews found
StartupInsurance.ai has no public customer reviews or ratings that we found, so there is no Review Score. That isn't a bad sign, just not enough to judge.[8][1][6]
Read StartupInsurance.ai reviewsOffering Details
Aon vs StartupInsurance.ai: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Aon Directors and Officers Liability brokerage and risk-advisory offering | StartupInsurance.ai Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | Aon markets D&O broking and advisory services, including insurer selection and program design. It does not issue the described coverage or name the carrier for a buyer’s placement. 3Company-reported. Aon’s official global product/capability page. The statement is limited to Aon’s marketing of brokerage or advisory services, not policy issuance. | StartupInsurance.ai lists directors and officers coverage among the lines its startup program places, and its homepage cites an investor's term-sheet request for D&O as a typical reason a founder comes to it. ContractorNerd Insurance Services, LLC arranges the placement as agent/broker of record rather than underwriting it. 5,7Company-reported. Homepage coverage list and "the problem" narrative, plus ContractorNerd's terms and conditions on its producer role; does not describe a specific D&O policy's terms. |
| Issuing Insurer | The reviewed page does not identify the insurer or the legal producing entity for a specific placement. Ask Aon to identify both for the quoted risk. 3Not found in reviewed sources. Aon’s global product/capability page reviewed 2026-09-30; no buyer quote, binder or policy was reviewed. This does not establish that no insurer or producing entity is available. | The homepage's carrier panel names insurers with D&O capacity, such as Chubb (shown as A++ Admitted) and Coalition (shown as A- Surplus), but does not state that either one specifically underwrites D&O placements; the issuing insurer varies by placement. 5Not publicly disclosed. Homepage carrier panel and ratings card; the panel is program-wide, not broken out by coverage line. |
| Who It’s For | Aon describes D&O services for public and private companies and discusses executives, directors, managers and board members. This is a target-audience description, not an underwriting eligibility schedule. 3Company-reported. Audience stated by Aon on its global capability page; this does not establish a specific applicant’s eligibility or placement availability by U.S. state. | StartupInsurance.ai frames D&O as coverage founders typically need once an investor's term sheet requires it, positioning the line for venture-backed startups with a board rather than pre-revenue companies with no outside investors. 5Company-reported. Homepage narrative example; not a stated underwriting eligibility rule (e.g., minimum funding stage or headcount). |
| Coverage Features | Aon explains D&O policies generally through Side A individual protection when company indemnity is unavailable, Side B reimbursement when the company indemnifies a director or officer, and Side C entity coverage, with different descriptions for public and private companies. It notes exclusions can apply; an issued policy determines the actual scope. 3Company-reported. Aon’s broker-authored explanation of the insurance line. It does not establish an individual insured’s policy entitlement; the insurer’s form, endorsements and declarations control. | StartupInsurance.ai says one major carrier added a blanket AI exclusion to D&O (along with E&O and fiduciary forms), typically arriving at renewal inside an endorsement, and that it reviews policies for this exclusion as part of its free check. 5Company-reported. Homepage "wording that still says yes" section; names the exclusion trend industrywide but not the carrier, and does not state whether any StartupInsurance.ai-placed D&O policy carries this specific endorsement. |
| Limits and Retentions | The reviewed page does not state a standard buyer-specific limit, retention or deductible for this placement. Confirm amounts, sublimits and conditions in the quote and issued policy. 3Not publicly disclosed. Aon’s global product/capability page reviewed 2026-09-30; no buyer quote or policy form was reviewed. | Confirm in your quote. |
| Risk Services | Aon says its brokerage and claims teams collaborate on coverage negotiations and describes insurer-selection analytics and a D&O Risk Analyzer. Those are broker services, not an insurer claim decision or guarantee. 3Company-reported. Company-reported brokerage and advisory services. Account-specific service terms are not stated. | StartupInsurance.ai's free policy check reviews an existing program for AI exclusions and contract gaps within 48 hours, and the homepage specifically calls out D&O as one of the forms affected by the AI-exclusion trend it checks for. 5Company-reported. Homepage service description; a marketing offer describing what the review covers, not a report on any specific customer's D&O policy. |
| How to Apply | Confirm in your quote. | Directors & Officers (D&O) is the first coverage box on StartupInsurance.ai's online quote-intake screen, described there as coverage that "protects your board and executives from lawsuits." 6Company-reported. Initial coverage-selection screen of the quote application; does not show the underwriting questions that follow for this line. |
Full Comparison
More Aon vs StartupInsurance.ai Comparisons
Other D&O Insurance Comparisons
Sources
Aon
- Commercial Risk Solutions U.S. Brokerage Terms of Service. Aon; Lines 120–127: certain-program broker-of-record scope, consultation, application assistance, client signature and bind instruction, and account administration; lines 140–147: variable and contingent compensation, potential placement incentive, and client request route; lines 206–213: no price guarantee and surplus-lines limitations; lines 229–231: client insurer-notice duty unless separately agreed. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Middle Market Clients. Aon; Lines 125–132: mid-sized organizations and middle-market framing; lines 165–173: dedicated practice and North America statement; lines 188–224: Commercial Risk capabilities. No numeric company-size cutoff or U.S.-only eligibility rule is stated on the reviewed page. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) Liability Insurance. Aon; D&O audience and coverage explanation, lines 123–160; insurer-selection, brokerage and claims collaboration, analytics and industry specialization, lines 171–189; contact link at top. Accessed 2026-09-30.
StartupInsurance.ai
- Company | Startup Insurance. StartupInsurance.ai; The story; founders; The free policy check; legal footer. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Startup Insurance | Coverage that clears the review. StartupInsurance.ai; The problem (“An investor's term sheet asked for D&O”); Wording that still says yes (“One major carrier added a blanket AI exclusion to D&O, E&O and fiduciary”); Coverage: What we place; The free policy check. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Apply for Startup Insurance | StartupInsurance.ai. StartupInsurance.ai; Coverage-selection screen: Directors & Officers (D&O) — “Protects your board and executives from lawsuits”. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Terms and Conditions. ContractorNerd; Section 2, Insurance Services: “ContractorNerd is an insurance agency/insurance producer... not an insurance company, does not underwrite insurance”; Section 2.A, Broker/Agent of Record. Accessed 2026-09-23.
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.
