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
What Is Gallagher?
Gallagher’s technology specialists serve startups through global enterprises, while its executive-risk team supports IPO and M&A needs; small firms seeking one simple digital quote should compare online agencies. 7,8,9,10,11
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. 12,13,14
Key Differences in D&O Insurance
Coverage around a public listing
Gallagher specifically advises SPACs and companies going public through an IPO or direct listing, bundling D&O with related placements before and after the transaction. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance describes D&O for large commercial and financial firms, including government-investigation and derivative-action features. A company entering a public-market transition can compare Gallagher’s transaction-focused program design with BHSI’s policy terms and confirm each market’s timing. 9 9 5
Broker advocacy and insurer defense terms
Gallagher says its executive-risk practice has a dedicated claims-advocacy team with in-house attorneys and uses benchmarking to shape coverage structures; it selects insurers based on qualifications, performance, and client preferences. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance describes full choice of defense counsel and investigation coverage, while the issuing insurer is BHSI. For a complex transaction, compare the broker’s claims support and market selection with the carrier’s stated defense provisions. 9 9 5
What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes
- Ask Gallagher how D&O limits and related lines change before and after the IPO or de-SPAC; request BHSI’s transaction terms and investigation sublimits. 9 5
- Confirm which insurer Gallagher recommends and who will advocate on a claim; compare with BHSI’s choice-of-counsel provision and claim process. 9 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
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 reviewsGallagher
Review Score
3 rated sources
Gallagher has strong Trustpilot feedback and a favorable historical large-commercial survey result. Neither directly measures today’s US small-business service.[2][4][6]
Read Gallagher reviewsOffering Details
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Gallagher: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Executive First D&O Liability Insurance | Gallagher Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | Confirm in your quote. | Gallagher's Executive and Financial Risk practice places D&O liability insurance and advises on program design; it does not underwrite the policy, which is issued by a carrier selected during placement. 9Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Issuing Insurer | Confirm in your quote. | The executive-and-financial-risk page does not name the insurer that would issue a given client's D&O policy; it says Gallagher weighs carrier qualifications and performance data alongside a client's own insurer history and preferences when deciding which carriers to approach. 9Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| 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. | Gallagher specifically markets D&O placement and advisory support to special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) around their IPO and de-SPAC process, and to companies going public through an IPO or direct listing. 9Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page, SPAC and IPO subsections. |
| 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. | Gallagher says its D&O team constructs policies addressing lawsuits from shareholders, employees, competitors, suppliers and government bodies, and can evaluate an existing D&O program against the market. 9Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; a service description, not a specific policy's insuring agreement. |
| Limits and Retentions | Confirm in your quote. | The executive-and-financial-risk page does not publish D&O limits, retentions or premium ranges. 9Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| 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. | For SPACs and IPOs, Gallagher describes bundling D&O coverage before and after the IPO with related lines such as representations and warranties, E&O, cyber, tax and contingent liability coverage, plus risk-management and claims support at each stage. 9Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page, SPAC subsection. |
| Claims Support | Confirm in your quote. | Gallagher says its Executive and Financial Risk practice has a dedicated claims-advocacy team with in-house attorneys specializing in these lines, and that it uses quantitative benchmarking, including measuring the judicious use of Side-A-only D&O coverage, to guide more precise coverage structures. 9Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice summary; describes a support service, not a guarantee of claim payment. |
Full Comparison
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Sources
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Gallagher
- Technology Insurance. Gallagher; Introduction; Solutions and coverages for the technology industry: Technology errors and omissions including cyber, Intellectual property insurance, Product liability, Employee benefits; Data-driven insights; global network. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses. Gallagher Small Business; Protection for IT Professionals & Their Technology-Based Businesses; recommended coverage menu, including Surety Bond Programs; Connect With An Advisor. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Executive and Financial Risk Insurance. Gallagher; Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability insurance section; Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) section; IPO and direct listings section; Executive and Financial Risk Practice Summary. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Legal Information. Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher. Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
