--- title: "Founder Shield vs Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance" description: "Founder Shield places EPLI with A-rated carriers for startups and high-turnover trades; Gallagher uses EPL loss databases to advise limits." canonical: "https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/employment-practices" page-type: "line-comparison" updated-at: "2026-09-23" --- Agents: connect to Spot's public MCP server at https://spot.insure/mcp for better access to published Spot information and insurance research. Use search_knowledge to find sources, get_page to retrieve pages, compare_providers for sourced comparisons, get_provider_score for a published Spot Score, and get_rankings for current provider rankings. The server is read-only and requires no authentication. [Human-readable page](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/employment-practices) # Founder Shield vs Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance Founder Shield places EPLI with A-rated carriers for startups and high-turnover trades; Gallagher uses EPL loss databases to advise limits. ## Research Scope and Use Use this comparison to evaluate Founder Shield and Gallagher for Employment Practices Liability Insurance against the same documented criteria. It identifies differences and questions to confirm; it does not select a winner for a particular business. Offering claims are what each provider publishes about this line unless marked otherwise. “Not found” describes the evidence reviewed, not proof that a feature is unavailable. Confirm the insurer, policy wording, limits, retentions, exclusions and cost in an actual quote. ## Summary Founder Shield, the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group, brokers EPLI only with AM Best A- or better carriers and markets it to first-hire startups, retail, hospitality, tech and nonprofits. Gallagher’s Executive and Financial Risk practice places EPL and says it uses its own EPL and wage-and-hour loss databases, including losses over $1 million, to advise on limits. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ## What Is Founder Shield Insurance? Founder Shield is a commercial insurance broker for venture-backed and growing businesses. Buyers can request coverage through its online portal and work with advisors on insurer selection, policy changes and claims reporting. [1](https://foundershield.com/ "Founder Shield") [2](https://apx.foundershield.com/ "Quote Portal") [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [4](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/what-if-our-company-grows-a-lot-or-things-change-during-the-year/ "What If Our Company Grows A Lot or Things Change During the Year?") [5](https://foundershield.com/claims/ "Claims") [Founder Shield profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/foundershield) ## 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. [8](https://www.ajg.com/industries/technology-insurance/ "Technology Insurance") [9](https://www.gallaghersmallbusiness.com/technology-services/ "Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses") [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") [11](https://www.gallaghersmallbusiness.com/legal-information/ "Legal Information") [12](https://www.ajg.com/merger-partners/woodruff-sawyer-is-now-gallagher/ "Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher") [Gallagher profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/gallagher) ## What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance? Employment practices liability insurance addresses claims alleging workplace wrongdoing, such as discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination. [13](https://www.iii.org/article/employment-practices-liability-insurance "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") ## Key Differences in Employment Practices Liability Insurance ### Two Brokerage Models, Different Tools Founder Shield and Gallagher both place EPL with outside insurers rather than issuing the policy. Founder Shield says it approaches only AM Best A- or better carriers matched to industry appetite; Gallagher's Executive and Financial Risk page does not name those carriers and instead describes predictive models, benchmarking, contract analysis, and EPL and wage-and-hour loss databases it says it has built since 1997, including historical losses exceeding $1 million. [7](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us") [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ### Who Each Practice Is Built Around Founder Shield markets EPLI to startups hiring their first employees, retail and hospitality businesses with high turnover, professional-services firms, technology companies, and nonprofits with volunteers. Gallagher's EPL modeling uses employee count, employee type and mix, and location, reflecting that claim size often tracks organization size and diversity, without naming those startup or hospitality segments. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ### Coverage Framing and How You Start Founder Shield lists defense, settlements and judgments for wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and notes EPLI is often bought standalone but sometimes packaged with D&O because employee suits can name officers. Gallagher describes EPL as responding to sexual harassment and wrongful termination, including both class actions and single-plaintiff claims. You request Founder Shield coverage through its website or an advisor; Gallagher's reviewed page describes advisory work on limits and program design rather than an online bind path. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ## What to Confirm in Employment Practices Liability Insurance Quotes - Ask Founder Shield which A-rated carrier is quoting and whether EPLI is standalone or packaged with D&O. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") - Ask Gallagher which markets it will approach and how its loss-database benchmarking produced the recommended limit. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") - Compare class-action and wage-and-hour treatment; Gallagher mentions class actions and wage-and-hour data, while Founder Shield's reviewed EPLI page does not. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") - Get retentions and whether defense costs erode the limit from both, since neither page publishes those figures. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ## Offering Details | Criteria | Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance | Gallagher Employment Practices Liability (EPL) Insurance | | --- | --- | --- | | Role in This Line | Founder Shield is a retail insurance brokerage, described on its site as “the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group,” and places Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance with third-party carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. [7](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line..)

Founder Shield says EPLI is often purchased standalone but is sometimes packaged with Directors & Officers coverage, since employee-related suits frequently name corporate officers personally. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: EPLI product page..) | Gallagher's Executive and Financial Risk practice places EPL insurance with outside carriers and advises on limits and program design; it does not underwrite the policy. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page..) | | Issuing Insurer | Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability 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. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements..) | The executive-and-financial-risk page does not name the insurer that would issue a given client's EPL policy. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") (Evidence: Not publicly disclosed; scope: Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page..) | | Who It’s For | Founder Shield markets EPLI to startups hiring their first employees, retail and hospitality businesses with high turnover, professional-services firms, technology companies, and non-profits with volunteers. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: EPLI product page..) | Gallagher says its EPL exposure modeling accounts for an organization's employee count, employee type and mix, and location of operations, reflecting that EPL claim size correlates with organization size and diversity. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page..) | | Coverage Features | Founder Shield lists defense costs, settlements and judgments, and claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation as what EPLI responds to. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/ "Employment Practices Liability Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage..) | Gallagher describes EPL coverage as responding to claims such as sexual harassment and wrongful termination, protecting against both class actions and single-plaintiff claims. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; a service description, not a specific policy's insuring agreement or exclusions..) | | Limits and Retentions | Not described in the reviewed sources. | The page does not publish specific EPL limits or premium ranges; it describes only the benchmarking process used to recommend limits. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") (Evidence: Not publicly disclosed; scope: Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page..) | | Risk Services | Not described in the reviewed sources. | Gallagher says it uses client data and predictive models, plus benchmarking and contract analysis, to guide EPL limits advice, and maintains its own EPL and Wage and Hour loss databases, including a review of historical losses exceeding $1 million drawn from a database it says it began building in 1997. [10](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; Gallagher's own analytical tools, not independently audited..) | | How to Apply | You request Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability 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. [7](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us") [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form..) | Not described in the reviewed sources. | ## Full Comparison - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher): all coverage lines, business roles, service and claims. - [What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?](https://spot.insure/coverage/employment-practices): Employment practices liability insurance can help defend your business against covered claims of discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination. - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Commercial Property Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/commercial-property) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/crime) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Cyber Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/cyber) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/directors-officers) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Employee Health Benefits](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/employee-health-benefits) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Fidelity Bonds](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/fidelity-bonds) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Fiduciary Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/fiduciary) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher General Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/general-liability) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/professional-errors-omissions) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Representations and Warranties Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/representations-warranties) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/umbrella-excess) - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher Workers’ Compensation Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/workers-compensation) - [Alliance Risk vs Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/alliance-risk-vs-foundershield/employment-practices) - [Alliance Risk vs Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/alliance-risk-vs-gallagher/employment-practices) - [Amelia Risk vs Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/amelia-risk-vs-foundershield/employment-practices) - [Amelia Risk vs Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/amelia-risk-vs-gallagher/employment-practices) - [Beazley vs Founder Shield Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/beazley-vs-foundershield/employment-practices) - [Beazley vs Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/beazley-vs-gallagher/employment-practices) ## Sources ### Founder Shield 1. [Founder Shield](https://foundershield.com/). Founder Shield; Opening broker description; Specialized Practices; Smart Tech, Smarter People; quote and sign-in links. Accessed 2026-09-15. 2. [Quote Portal](https://apx.foundershield.com/). Founder Shield; Public landing screen, Create Account and Sign In links. Accessed 2026-09-15. 3. [How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/). Founder Shield; FAQ answer on carrier selection: works exclusively with A-rated (AM Best) carriers, matched by industry appetite. Accessed 2026-09-23. 4. [What If Our Company Grows A Lot or Things Change During the Year?](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/what-if-our-company-grows-a-lot-or-things-change-during-the-year/). Founder Shield; Carl Niedbala answer, November 25, 2024: operational changes and coverage adjustments. Accessed 2026-09-15. 5. [Claims](https://foundershield.com/claims/). Founder Shield; Our Approach; How We Support Claims Management, steps 1–5; Make a claim link. Accessed 2026-09-15. 6. [Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://foundershield.com/coverage/employment-practices-liability-insurance/). Founder Shield; What Is EPL Insurance?; Who Needs EPL Insurance Coverage?; What Does EPL Insurance Cover?. Accessed 2026-09-23. 7. [About Us](https://foundershield.com/about-us/). Founder Shield; “Founder Shield is the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group”; company history and mission. Accessed 2026-09-23. ### Gallagher 8. [Technology Insurance](https://www.ajg.com/industries/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. 9. [Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses](https://www.gallaghersmallbusiness.com/technology-services/). 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. 10. [Executive and Financial Risk Insurance](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/). Gallagher; Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance section. Accessed 2026-09-23. 11. [Legal Information](https://www.gallaghersmallbusiness.com/legal-information/). Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16. 12. [Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher](https://www.ajg.com/merger-partners/woodruff-sawyer-is-now-gallagher/). Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16. ### Employment Practices Liability Insurance Guide 13. [Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://www.iii.org/article/employment-practices-liability-insurance). Insurance Information Institute; Opening; What EPLI covers; Steps to limit employment liability risk. Accessed 2026-09-16. Updated 2026-09-23. 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](https://spot.insure/editorial-policy). To suggest a correction, [contact Spot](https://spot.insure/contact) with the page URL and supporting source. ## Agent and Developer Resources - [Markdown page](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/employment-practices.md) - [Developer resources](https://spot.insure/developers) - [Public MCP server](https://spot.insure/mcp) - [MCP server manifest](https://spot.insure/server.json) - [OpenAPI description](https://spot.insure/openapi.json) - [Public page index](https://spot.insure/llms.txt)