Beazley vs StartupInsurance.ai 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.

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. ^8,9Company-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.

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 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. ⁸Not publicly disclosed. Homepage carrier panel and ratings card; the panel is program-wide, not broken out by coverage line.

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.

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. ⁸Company-reported. Homepage narrative example; not a stated underwriting eligibility rule (e.g., minimum funding stage or headcount).

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.

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. ⁸Company-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.

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.

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.

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. ⁸Company-reported. Homepage service description; a marketing offer describing what the review covers, not a report on any specific customer's D&O policy.

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.

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." ⁷Company-reported. Initial coverage-selection screen of the quote application; does not show the underwriting questions that follow for this line.

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.