Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs CNA: How Do They Compare for D&O Insurance?

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance describes informal investigation coverage; CNA identifies Side A/B/C protection and lets private companies select shared or separate limits. 5,10

What Is Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance?

BHSI provides commercial and specialty insurance in the U.S., with product-specific industry lists that include healthcare, energy and technology. Online quote and application submissions are nonbinding. 1,2,3,4

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance profile

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance D&O Insurance page

CNA Small Business Insurance: Products, Agents and Service

CNA directs small-business buyers to independent agents and describes CNA Connect as a businessowners policy for more than 600 small-business classes. Issuer and availability vary by policy and state, so confirm both in a quote. 7,8,9

Read the CNA profile

Read the CNA D&O Insurance page

What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?

D&O insurance can help pay covered defense costs and losses from claims against company leaders over management decisions. If your organization has a board or executives, check whether the company itself is insured and whether legal bills reduce the limit. 11,12,13

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in D&O Insurance

Shared or separate limits

CNA says its Epack 3 D&O can use shared or separate limits and includes an embedded Side A option. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance describes investigation and derivative-action protections, including informal government inquiries without sublimits, but the reviewed record does not publish a standard overall limit. A board should compare how each quote allocates limit among individuals and the entity before weighing BHSI’s specific investigation wording. 10 5

Private-company fit and covered parties

CNA describes its product for private companies, including small private companies, and identifies Side A, Side B, and Side C protection. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance names large commercial and financial firms as target accounts. Small and midsize boards should ask CNA how the shared-limit option applies to their entity, while larger organizations can test BHSI appetite and compare the claims features in each proposed form. 10 10 5

What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes

  • Ask CNA to illustrate how an EPLI or fiduciary claim could affect a shared D&O aggregate; compare that with BHSI’s proposed limit and its investigation and derivative-action terms. 10 5
  • Confirm CNA’s claims support and identify the BHSI defense-counsel terms, including which investigation costs reduce policy limits. 10 5

Review Scores

These averages can combine ratings for different products, locations, and customer groups, including approximate BBB grade conversions. Read each review for the sources, scope, and calculation.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

-/ 10

Review Score

No reviews found

The public ratings for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance are low but thin: Trustpilot shows 2.1 out of 5 from 9 reviews and BBB shows 1 out of 5 from 6. Both mix travel and commercial customers, so we don't count them in a score.[5][7]

Read Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance reviews

CNA

9.0/ 10

Review Score

1 rated source

Customer feedback on CNA is mixed and hard to compare. NerdWallet gave it 4.5 out of 5 for manufacturers, while Trustpilot shows about 1.4 out of 5 from 49 mostly self-selected reviews.[1][5]

Read CNA reviews

Offering Details

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs CNA: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaExecutive First D&O Liability InsuranceCNA Epack 3 Private Company D&O
Who It’s For

The D&O page names large commercial and financial firms as target accounts. 5Company-reported. U.S. target-account description, not a complete eligibility rule or acceptance commitment.

CNA states this D&O product is designed for private companies, including small private companies. 10Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing company varies by form/state Product: Private-company D&O in Epack 3 Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: U.S. private-company D&O under Epack 3; issuer/state terms vary Claim limitation: Company marketing summary only; issued policy forms, underwriting, jurisdictional availability, limits, exclusions and definitions control. Source/date qualification: Source is CNA’s 2025 private-company D&O marketing summary; it is not an issued policy form.

Coverage Features

The U.S. Executive First D&O page describes coverage for government investigations, including informal investigations of insured individuals without sublimits. 5Company-reported. U.S. D&O product-page summary; the actual policy, definitions, exclusions, conditions, insureds, and state forms control.

BHSI says its D&O product covers plaintiffs’ attorney fees and costs for shareholder derivative actions and company costs to investigate derivative demands or actions where no demand is made. 5Company-reported. U.S. D&O product-page summary; do not read as all derivative-action costs covered under every issued policy.

CNA’s private-company D&O summary describes coverage for covered company and individual claims and identifies Side A, Side B and Side C protection. 10Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing company varies by form/state Product: Private-company D&O in Epack 3 Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: U.S. private-company D&O under Epack 3; issuer/state terms vary Claim limitation: Company marketing summary only; issued policy forms, underwriting, jurisdictional availability, limits, exclusions and definitions control. Source/date qualification: Source is CNA’s 2025 private-company D&O marketing summary; it is not an issued policy form.

Limits and Retentions

Confirm in your quote.

CNA says Epack 3 D&O can use shared or separate limits and offers an embedded Side A limit option. 10Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing company varies by form/state Product: Private-company D&O in Epack 3 Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: U.S. private-company D&O under Epack 3; issuer/state terms vary Claim limitation: Availability of options is subject to underwriting and policy wording. Source/date qualification: Source is CNA’s 2025 private-company D&O marketing summary; it is not an issued policy form.

Risk Services

BHSI describes full choice of defense counsel for the D&O product. 5Company-reported. Company-reported product feature; applicable policy terms and any state-specific requirements remain controlling.

Confirm in your quote.

Claims Support

Confirm in your quote.

CNA says an experienced claims team supports policyholders with D&O claims. 10Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing company varies by form/state Product: Private-company D&O in Epack 3 Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: U.S. private-company D&O under Epack 3; issuer/state terms vary Claim limitation: Company-reported service description; not an outcome guarantee. Source/date qualification: Source is CNA’s 2025 private-company D&O marketing summary; it is not an issued policy form.

Full Comparison

More Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs CNA Comparisons

Other D&O Insurance Comparisons

Sources

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

  1. At A Glance. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; United States section, zero-based PDF pages 49–53 (viewer pages 50–54): product/industry lists on pages 49–50; U.S. disclosure/version footer on page 53 is 2026-8-03 A. The 2026-09-14 A footer is on preceding European page 48, not the U.S. section. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. About Us. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; About BHSI; company profile page re-opened through official site on 2026-09-28; company says it is part of National Indemnity group. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Terms of Service. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Important Information Concerning Use of this Web Site, paragraphs 2–4; nonbinding submissions, contracted-agent authority, state variation, product availability and policy-specific terms. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Public Disclosure — Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Singapore Branch. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Singapore branch public disclosure, Company Profile ¶¶ 1–2; direct page opened 2026-09-28. ¶ 1 identifies BHSIC as a Nebraska-domiciled direct P&C insurer; ¶ 2 states BHSIC is wholly owned by National Indemnity Company, itself wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. Executive First Directors & Officers Liability Insurance. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Product Highlights: government investigations, shareholder derivative actions, late-notice qualification, defense counsel selection; Top Targets: large commercial and financial firms, lines 6–19. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. Executive First Private Company Portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Product Highlights: D&O, EPL, Fiduciary, Commercial Crime and Employed Lawyers in one comprehensive form; shared or separate limits to $50m; EPL First services. Top Targets: private companies at $10m+ revenues and listed industries, lines 11–25. Portfolio limit is not a separate line limit. Accessed 2026-09-28.

CNA

  1. Insurance for Small Businesses. CNA; Insurance for Small Businesses, lines 38-50 and 65-67 (CNA Central and agent route); lines 79-106 (product and stated appetite lists); page footer line 132 (CNA registered service mark). Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. CNA Connect Small Businessowners Policy (BOP) | CNA Insurance. CNA; CNA Connect; coverages, product range, services. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. General Disclaimer. CNA; General Disclaimer paragraphs 1 and 5 (HTML lines 24 and 28): CNA describes Continental Casualty Company and its relevant affiliates; references to CNA may include one or more CCC affiliates; each particular policy/product/service is the responsibility only of the specific CNA company that issues or supplies it. Footer line 57 identifies CNA Financial Corporation as trademark registrant. Re-read 2026-09-29. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  4. Private Company Directors & Officers Liability | CNA. CNA; pp. 1–2: covered claims, Side A/B/C, limits, eligibility and claims. Accessed 2026-09-28.

D&O Insurance Guide

  1. Glossary of Business Insurance Terms. The Hartford; Directors and Officers Liability Insurance; Errors and Omissions Insurance; Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. The Chubb Primary Directors & Officers and Entity Securities Liability Insurance. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies; hosted by eperils; I.A–C p.1; I.C p.1; I and III.A–B pp.1–2; VI Reporting pp.3–4. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Private Company Directors and Officers Liability Coverage. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; I.A–C p.1; I.C p.1; Header p.1 and VI.A pp.6–7. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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