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

Lockton brokers and structures D&O programs, including options to cover trustees and employees and specialist claims support; Beazley insures private-company policies up to $20 million.

Beazley is the insurer: it offers private-company D&O up to $20 million and lets you choose duty-to-defend or pay-on-behalf. Lockton is a broker that designs your Side A, B and C program across insurers, with its own claims counsel working your file from the start. ^1,^2,³

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

One Insurer's Policy vs a Broker-Built Program

With Beazley you buy one insurer's private-company D&O, and it says it pays 100% of defense costs for covered loss. ¹ Lockton doesn't underwrite; it designs and places programs, and flags emerging exposures such as AI-related litigation. Its reviewed page names no insurers or limits. ³ Choose Beazley if you are a private company that needs up to $20 million from one carrier and wants a say in how your defense is run; choose Lockton if you need a tower built across several insurers or want claims advocacy in-house at your broker.

Who Gets Covered

Lockton says the programs it places can extend beyond directors and officers to trustees, employees, independent contractors, committee members, volunteers, the company, majority-owned subsidiaries, spouses and estates. That matters if volunteers or contractors make decisions for you. ³ Beazley focuses on Excess Side A for individual directors and officers when the company can't indemnify them or the underlying limit runs out, plus optional cover for employed lawyers. ¹

Help When a Claim Arrives

Lockton's Professional & Executive Risk Claims team puts insurance and claims counsel inside the broking team from the start, so the people fighting your claim already know your program. ³ With Beazley you deal with the insurer's own claims team under the defense option you picked. ¹

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

Ask Lockton which insurers it would approach and the limits it expects to place. ³
Ask Lockton how far the insured definition would extend beyond directors and officers. ³
Ask Beazley to quote both duty to defend and pay on behalf, plus Excess Side A. ¹
If Lockton places you with Beazley, ask how its claims counsel works with Beazley's claims team. ³ ¹

Beazley vs Lockton D&O Insurance Compared

Beazley vs Lockton: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider

Criteria	Beazley D&O – Private Companies	Lockton Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance Brokerage
Who It’s For	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. ^1,²Company-reported. Private-company D&O only; ExecuGuard buyers can additionally choose to share limits across D&O, EPL and fiduciary coverages.	Lockton says D&O coverage it places can extend beyond directors and officers to trustees, employees, independent contractors, staff, committee members, volunteers, the corporate entity, majority-owned subsidiaries, spouses/domestic partners, and estates/heirs. ³Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23. Describes who can typically be covered under a program Lockton structures, not a guarantee for any specific client.
Coverage Features	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. ¹Company-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. ¹Company-reported. D&O - Private Companies product page; availability and pricing of the extension depend on underwriting.	Lockton explains a traditional D&O program in three parts it says it can structure: Side A (direct coverage to individual directors/officers when the company can't indemnify them), Side B (reimbursing the company for indemnifying its D&Os), and Side C (entity coverage, generally limited to securities claims for public companies but broader for private and nonprofit organizations). ³Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23. General educational description of program structure, not a specimen policy form.
Role in This Line	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. ^1,²Company-reported. US private-company D&O as described on the two reviewed product pages; does not establish which entity issues a particular policy.	Lockton designs and places D&O programs rather than underwriting them, saying effective coverage requires market intelligence, coverage-design precision and staying ahead of emerging risks like AI-related litigation and event-driven claims. ³Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23.
Claims Support	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. ²Company-reported. ExecuGuard page scenario section; outcome statistics are not independently verified.	Lockton says its Professional & Executive Risk Claims team integrates experienced insurance and claims counsel within the broking team from the start of the relationship, rather than treating claims advocacy as a separate profit center. ³Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23.