Corgi vs Founder Shield D&O Insurance

Corgi sells D&O as a standalone startup policy and also bundles it into its stage-based packages starting at pre-seed and seed, describing it as protection for directors and officers against personal financial liability for management decisions. ⁶Company-reported. Product page for form CORG-DO-0100, last reviewed by Corgi on April 24, 2026 per the page itself.

Founder Shield is a retail insurance brokerage, described on its site as “the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group,” and places Founder Shield Directors & Officers Insurance with third-party carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. ¹³Company-reported. About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line.

Corgi's D&O product page states directly that the policy is a claims-made policy underwritten by Technology Risk Retention Group, Inc., a risk retention group. ⁶Company-reported. Policy Boundaries section of the D&O product page; this is a line-specific underwriter statement, distinct from Corgi's general multi-entity disclaimer.

Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield Directors & Officers Insurance, only with carriers rated A- or better by AM Best, chosen for the client's industry. It does not name the issuing insurer for this line; that depends on which carrier the policy is placed with. ⁹Company-reported. General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Founder Shield targets D&O at public and private businesses, venture-backed companies (it says almost every institutional term sheet requires the coverage), and businesses owing more than $1 million to creditors. ¹²Company-reported. Directors & Officers Insurance product page.

The policy has three coverage parts: Side A pays individual directors and officers directly when the company cannot indemnify them and carries no retention; Side B reimburses the company when it does indemnify directors and officers; Side C covers the company entity itself, subject to additional exclusions including intellectual-property claims and contractual liability. ⁶Company-reported. Coverage summary for form CORG-DO-0100; the issued policy and declarations control.

The standard policy excludes claims from registered public securities offerings, but a carve-back preserves coverage for exempt transactions such as Regulation D private placements, which Corgi says covers how most startups raise capital. ⁶Company-reported. Scenario notes for form CORG-DO-0100; not every fundraising structure automatically qualifies as exempt.

Corgi covers individual directors and officers (Sides A and B) who receive a Wells Notice, subpoena or target letter from a regulator, but the standard policy excludes entity-level regulatory investigations of the company itself. ⁶Company-reported. Policy notes for form CORG-DO-0100; informal inquiries and document requests that don't rise to these triggers are not covered.

Founder Shield describes a three-part structure: Side A pays individual directors/officers directly when the company cannot or will not indemnify them, Side B reimburses the company for indemnification it pays, and Side C provides entity coverage for the company itself. ¹²Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

Corgi's illustrative D&O structure shows limits up to $1 million per claim and $2 million in the aggregate, with a $25,000 self-insured retention per claim (no retention on Side A) and defense costs included within the limit. ⁶Company-reported. Illustrative policy structure on the product page; actual limits and retentions appear on the declarations.

Founder Shield's page describes a typical market base layer of $5 million to $10 million in combined A-B-C coverage, but does not publish a specific limit Founder Shield itself offers; actual limits are set on the quote. ¹²Company-reported. General market description on the product page, not a stated Founder Shield minimum or maximum.

Corgi offers three optional D&O endorsements: Outside Directorship (extends coverage to directors and officers serving on outside boards at the company's request), Crisis Event Expense (covers PR and crisis-communications costs after negative publicity), and Investigative Costs (broader coverage for regulatory inquiries short of a formal claim). ⁶Company-reported. Available Add-ons section of the product page; endorsement availability varies by jurisdiction and underwriting, and each requires a separate endorsement to apply.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

You can request a D&O quote online through Corgi's self-serve application. ⁶Company-reported. Product page quote call to action.

You request Founder Shield Directors & Officers Insurance through Founder Shield's website or an insurance advisor rather than binding coverage directly; Founder Shield says its placement team then approaches carriers on the client's behalf. ^13,9Company-reported. About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form.