Beazley vs Founder Shield D&O Insurance

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. ^5,3Company-reported. US private-company D&O as described on the two reviewed product pages; does not establish which entity issues a particular 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. ¹²Company-reported. About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line.

Neither the D&O - Private Companies page nor the ExecuGuard page names the specific Beazley insurance entity that issues the policy; ExecuGuard states both admitted and non-admitted versions are available, so the issuing carrier depends on the policy placed. ^5,3Not found in reviewed sources. Both product pages as read on 2026-09-23; the issued policy's declarations control the actual insurer.

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. ⁸Company-reported. General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements.

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. ^5,3Company-reported. Private-company D&O only; ExecuGuard buyers can additionally choose to share limits across D&O, EPL and fiduciary coverages.

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. ¹¹Company-reported. Directors & Officers Insurance product page.

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. ⁵Company-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 that responds for individual directors and officers when the company cannot indemnify them or the underlying limit is exhausted, plus an optional employed-lawyers errors-and-omissions extension. ⁵Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page; availability and pricing of the extension depend on underwriting.

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. ¹¹Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

Beazley advertises private-company D&O limits up to US $20 million, on either an admitted or non-admitted (surplus lines) basis; actual limits and retentions are set by underwriting and appear on the declarations. ^5,3Company-reported. Advertised maximum capacity, not a guaranteed quote amount.

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. ¹¹Company-reported. General market description on the product page, not a stated Founder Shield minimum or maximum.

D&O policyholders get pre-approved choice-of-counsel flexibility, and law-firm insureds can access a bespoke executive-risk wording through Beazley's related Practice Protect product. ⁵Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page; scope and terms of the Practice Protect wording were not independently reviewed.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

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. ⁵Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page as read on 2026-09-23; buyers typically work through a broker or underwriter contact.

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. ^12,8Company-reported. About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form.

Beazley illustrates its D&O claims approach with a securities class-action and shareholder derivative-action scenario in which its claims team worked with the insured's defense counsel toward a dismissal, avoiding a settlement; this is a single company-reported example, not audited claims-outcome data. ³Company-reported. ExecuGuard page scenario section; outcome statistics are not independently verified.

Not described in the reviewed sources.