Embroker vs
Gallagher D&O Insurance
Embroker sells D&O online with startup limit bands; Gallagher’s D&O practice is built around SPACs, IPOs and in-house claims-advocacy attorneys.
What Is Embroker?
Embroker is a business insurance broker and online platform serving startups, technology companies and professional-services firms, with proprietary programs and broker-assisted placements. 1,2,3
What Is Gallagher?
Gallagher is a business-insurance broker and risk-management consultancy. Its technology practice serves startups through global enterprises, alongside a separate small-business offering for IT professionals and an executive-risk practice covering D&O and transaction-related coverages. Woodruff Sawyer is now part of Gallagher. 5,6,7,8,9
What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?
Directors and officers liability insurance addresses covered claims alleging wrongful acts in managing an organization. 10
Key Differences in D&O Insurance
How You Buy It
Embroker offers an online quote for D&O on its digital platform and can sell it standalone, with cyber and workers’ compensation, or inside a management liability program. Gallagher does not underwrite. Its Executive and Financial Risk practice places D&O for SPACs around IPO and de-SPAC and for companies going public by IPO or direct listing. 4 7
A founder who can finish a platform application is on Embroker’s described path. A company whose next event is a listing is on Gallagher’s described path. 4 7
Limit Disclosure
Embroker publishes illustrative D&O/EPLI/fiduciary limit and retention ranges by funding stage, up to $8–10 million in limits and a $25–75k retention for $100–250 million raises. Gallagher’s executive-and-financial-risk page does not publish D&O limits, retentions or premium ranges. 4 7
You can check an Embroker quote against those bands. You cannot check a Gallagher quote against a public number until the placement returns. 4 7
Claims Support
Gallagher describes a dedicated claims-advocacy team with in-house attorneys on these lines and quantitative benchmarking of Side-A-only D&O use. Embroker’s reviewed D&O page does not describe an in-house claims-attorney team for this line. 7 4
What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes
- Ask Gallagher which carrier it would approach and how Side-A-only benchmarking would apply. 7
- Ask Embroker whether the quote uses the published startup-package bands and whether limits are shared with EPLI. 4
- If you are listing, ask Gallagher how pre- and post-IPO D&O would sit with related lines. 7
- Check Embroker’s listed exclusions against the specimen form. 4
Offering Details
Embroker vs Gallagher D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Embroker Directors and Officers Insurance | Gallagher Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | Embroker sells D&O as a standalone policy and offers to package it with cyber and workers' compensation; it also says EPLI, D&O and related coverages are sometimes bundled into a management liability program. 4Company-reported. Product-page description; not a statement about the issuing insurer. | 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. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Issuing Insurer | Not described in the reviewed sources. | 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. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Who It’s For | Embroker markets D&O to any private or public company with a board of directors, startups that have received or are about to receive venture capital funding, and nonprofit corporations, saying VC and private equity investors commonly require it before funding. 4Company-reported. Product-page eligibility and 'Why Do Startups Need D&O Insurance?' sections; not a guarantee of coverage for a particular company. | 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. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page, SPAC and IPO subsections. |
| Coverage Features | Embroker lists coverage for misuse of company funds, misrepresentation of company assets, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to comply with workplace laws and lack of corporate governance. 4Company-reported. Product-page What's covered section; the issued policy and declarations control. Embroker says the policy excludes lawsuits between members of the same company, criminal or deliberately fraudulent activity, prior-knowledge claims, and claims against directors actively engaged in antitrust violations. 4Company-reported. Product-page What's not included section. Embroker structures its D&O policy with three insuring agreements: Side A covers individual directors and officers when the company cannot indemnify them, Side B reimburses the company for indemnifying its leaders, and Side C covers the company itself when it is sued for financial mismanagement. 4Company-reported. Product-page 'What are Side A, B, and C insuring agreements?' section; specific policy structure, not a claim about every insurer's D&O form. | 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. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; a service description, not a specific policy's insuring agreement. |
| Limits and Retentions | For its startup package, Embroker publishes illustrative D&O/EPLI/fiduciary limit and retention ranges by funding stage, from roughly $1-2 million in limits with a $10-25k retention for companies raising up to $10 million, up to $8-10 million in limits with a $25-75k retention for companies raising $100-250 million. 4Company-reported. Product-page cost table for the Embroker Startup Package; actual limits, retentions and premiums depend on underwriting. | The executive-and-financial-risk page does not publish D&O limits, retentions or premium ranges. 7Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Risk Services | Not described in the reviewed sources. | 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. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page, SPAC subsection. |
| How to Apply | Embroker offers an online quote for D&O coverage through its digital platform, describing underwriting factors including revenue, industry risk and claims history. 4Company-reported. Product-page 'Quick quotes' feature and cost-factor list; no quote was requested during this research. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| Claims Support | Not described in the reviewed sources. | 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. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice summary; describes a support service, not a guarantee of claim payment. |
Full Comparison
More Embroker vs Gallagher Comparisons
Other D&O Insurance Comparisons
Sources
Embroker
- Embroker. Embroker; Industry navigation; quote and sign-in links; coverage options; footer availability qualification. Accessed 2026-09-15.
- Terms And Conditions. Embroker; Introduction; §§2A–B Insurance services, 13 Applications and quotes, 15 Insurance companies and underwriting guidelines, 16 Certificates, 21 Surplus lines products, 22 Payments. Accessed 2026-09-15.
- Embroker Access. Embroker; EMIS announcement; appointed-broker quoting, binding and issuance; product links; footer identifies Embroker Insurance Services, LLC. Accessed 2026-09-15.
- Directors & Officers Insurance Coverage: D&O Explained. Embroker; Why it's essential; Who needs this coverage; What is Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance?; What's covered; What's not included; What are Side A, B, and C insuring agreements?; What does Directors and Officers insurance cost? Accessed 2026-09-23.
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.





