Beazley vs 
Lockton D&O Insurance
Beazley underwrites private-company D&O with a defense election; Lockton designs Side A/B/C programs and integrates Professional & Executive Risk claims counsel into the broking team.
What Is Beazley?
Beazley is a specialty insurance group whose MediaTech product combines technology and professional E&O, media and cyber coverage. Separate offerings address executive liability, digital health and other specialty risks. 1,2,3,4
What Is Lockton?
Lockton is a privately held insurance brokerage that arranges commercial risk, employee benefits and retirement programs. US pages describe a technology practice and intermediary placement with insurers, not Lockton as the policy’s insurer. 6,7,8
What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?
Directors and officers liability insurance addresses covered claims alleging wrongful acts in managing an organization. 10
Key Differences in D&O Insurance
Issuing the Policy Versus Designing the Tower
Beazley underwrites private-company D&O. Lockton designs and places D&O programs, saying effective coverage needs market intelligence, coverage-design precision and attention to emerging risks such as AI-related litigation; it does not underwrite and does not name the insurers on the reviewed D&O page. 5 9
Who Can Be an Insured
Lockton says 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 and estates, depending on the structure. Beazley’s private-company page emphasizes Excess Side A for individual directors and officers when indemnification fails or the underlying limit is exhausted, plus an optional employed-lawyers element, without listing Lockton’s expanded insured classes. 9 5
Defense Choice and Claims Counsel
Beazley lets the policyholder choose duty to defend or pay on behalf and says it pays 100% of defense costs for covered loss, with advertised limits up to US $20 million. Lockton explains Side A, Side B and Side C as parts it can structure, and says its Professional & Executive Risk Claims team puts insurance and claims counsel inside the broking team from the start rather than treating advocacy as a later add-on. 5 9
What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes
- Ask Lockton which insurers it would use and how far the insured definition would extend beyond directors and officers. 9
- Ask Beazley for duty to defend versus pay on behalf and Excess Side A. 5
- Compare Lockton’s unpublished limits on the proposal with Beazley’s advertised $20 million capacity. 9 5
- Ask how Lockton’s integrated claims counsel would interact with Beazley’s claims team if both were on a program. 9 5
Offering Details
Beazley vs Lockton D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Beazley D&O – Private Companies | Lockton Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance Brokerage |
|---|---|---|
| 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. 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. | 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. 9Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23. |
| Issuing Insurer | 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. | The D&O page does not name the insurers Lockton places D&O coverage with. 9Not publicly disclosed. D&O product page checked 2026-09-23. |
| 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. 5,3Company-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. 9Company-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. 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. | 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). 9Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23. General educational description of program structure, not a specimen policy form. |
| Limits and Retentions | 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. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| Risk Services | 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. |
| How to Apply | 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. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| 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. 3Company-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. 9Company-reported. D&O product page as read 2026-09-23. |
Full Comparison
More Beazley vs Lockton Comparisons
Other D&O Insurance Comparisons
Sources
Beazley
- MediaTech for Small Businesses. Beazley; Opening product description; What we offer: E&O (Tech and Professional), Media, Cyber coverage includes; How can we help; SME placement paragraph; Tools & Resources. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Legal Information. Beazley; Website conditions: US jurisdiction availability, surplus lines and policy wording disclaimers; Beazley plc identity. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Execuguard (Combined EPL, D&O, and Fiduciary). Beazley; What we offer: separate or shared limits among EPL, D&O and fiduciary; Limits up to US $20,000,000, both admitted and non-admitted available; Examples or Scenarios: California securities class action/derivative action. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Virtual Care. Beazley; Available Coverages; Who we can help; Where is this offered. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- D&O - Private Companies. Beazley; What we offer; How can we help: duty to defend/pay on behalf, 100% defense for covered loss, Excess Side A limit, private placement coverage, Practice Protect for lawyers; Up to US $20,000,000; Tools & Resources: EPL_RenewalApp. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Lockton
- Lockton United States. Lockton; Opening description of independent insurance brokerage for risk, benefits and retirement; Ask an Expert link to contact-us. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology. Lockton; Industry introduction; cyber liability heading; dedicated technology team; listed services including claims advocacy, contract review, directors and officers liability, and international program design; 24/7 service model. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- US Terms of Business. Lockton; Opening entity definition; Surplus Lines; Use of a Particular Insurer; Compensation Disclosure; servicing, claims handling and renewal language in Confidentiality section; Intermediaries. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- D&O Insurance. Lockton; What is D&O insurance?; Side A/B/C coverage components; Who can be covered under a D&O program?; Claims management. 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.
