Beazley vs USI Insurance Services 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.

USI is a broker for D&O coverage. It says it helps clients identify D&O exposures, review any existing management liability policies for gaps, and place coverage, including through its own named endorsement package, ExecuSafe. ⁹Company-reported. ExecuSafe article's "How USI Can Help" section.

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.

USI does not name the insurer that underwrites ExecuSafe or other D&O placements on the pages reviewed; it describes ExecuSafe as an endorsement package it applies to policies placed with the market. ⁹Not publicly disclosed. ExecuSafe article and Technology/Business Services practice pages as read on 2026-09-23.

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.

USI targets small- and medium-sized businesses for ExecuSafe, saying many either skip D&O coverage or buy insufficient limits because their brokers do not help them identify the exposure. Its Technology practice separately places D&O for software, hardware and communications clients from seed stage through IPO. ^9,7Company-reported. ExecuSafe article eligibility framing and Technology practice client description.

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.

USI says D&O insurance is meant to protect a company's leadership from personal loss in a lawsuit, since the corporate veil does not shield directors and officers from personal liability for the business's actions and debts. It lists breach of contract, breach of duty, misrepresentation, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, securities lawsuits and creditor lawsuits as common claim types the coverage responds to. ⁹Company-reported. ExecuSafe article's description of D&O purpose and claim types; actual insuring agreements and exclusions are set by the issued policy.

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.

USI cites a 2016 Chubb survey that found 43% of private companies carry no D&O coverage, with an average private-company D&O claim cost of $450,000, but the article does not publish USI's own placed limits, retentions or premium ranges for ExecuSafe. ⁹Not publicly disclosed. Third-party statistic cited by USI to illustrate exposure, not USI's own placement data.

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.

USI's Technology practice cites a case study where its benchmarking analysis showed a software company was buying more D&O limit than peers with similar risk profiles, and says the resulting change saved the client more than $100,000 per year in D&O premium. ⁷Company-reported. Single case study on the Technology practice page; company-reported outcome, not independently verified.

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.

USI directs small- and medium-sized businesses interested in ExecuSafe to email Select.Business@usi.com; its Technology and Business Services practices separately route inquiries to pcinquiries@usi.com or a local USI office. ^9,7,10Company-reported. Contact instructions on the ExecuSafe article and the Technology and Business Services pages.

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.