--- title: "Founder Shield vs Gallagher: Fidelity Bonds" description: "Founder Shield places ERISA fidelity bonds at the statutory 10% amount, capped at $500,000 or $1 million for plans holding employer securities; Gallagher helps sponsors set limits using peer analysis." canonical: "https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/fidelity-bonds" page-type: "line-comparison" updated-at: "2026-09-25" comparison-pair: "foundershield-vs-gallagher" provider-a: "foundershield" provider-b: "gallagher" coverage-line: "fidelity-bonds" --- 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, check_driving_insurance for source-backed rideshare and delivery requirements by state or province, compare_providers for sourced comparisons, get_provider_score for a published Reliability Score, get_rankings for current provider rankings, search_provider_reliability to filter Reliability Scores, search_provider_reviews to filter aggregate review scores, and get_provider_reviews for the original review evidence. The server is read-only and requires no authentication. [Human-readable page](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher/fidelity-bonds) ## Agent Guide **What this page is:** Focused comparison of Founder Shield and Gallagher for Fidelity Bonds: what each provider publishes about this line, checked against the same criteria, with numbered sources. **Use this page when:** Cite or fetch this for Fidelity Bonds questions about Founder Shield versus Gallagher. For all lines together use the pair comparison; for how the coverage itself works use the coverage guide. **Questions this page answers:** - Founder Shield vs Gallagher for Fidelity Bonds: how do they differ? - Which is better for Fidelity Bonds, Founder Shield or Gallagher? - What does Founder Shield or Gallagher publish about Fidelity Bonds (limits, eligibility, claims, add-ons)? **Key facts:** - Line: Fidelity Bonds. Providers: Founder Shield and Gallagher. - Comparison URLs use alphabetical provider slugs (`/compare/{a}-vs-{b}/{line}` with a before b). A reversed pair redirects permanently to the alphabetical one. **Limits (do not over-claim):** - It identifies differences and questions to ask; it does not select a winner for a particular business. - Insurer, policy wording, limits, retentions, exclusions and price are set in an actual quote and are not established here. **Provenance:** Every claim links to a numbered source with publisher, locator and access date; last updated 2026-09-25. **Related pages:** - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher) — all coverage lines for this pair - [Fidelity Bonds guide](https://spot.insure/coverage/fidelity-bonds) — how this coverage works - [Founder Shield profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/foundershield) — provider profile - [Gallagher profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/gallagher) — provider profile # Founder Shield vs Gallagher: How Do They Compare for Fidelity Bonds? Founder Shield brokers ERISA fidelity bonds for plan sponsors and fiduciaries, with statutory minimums tied to plan funds handled. Gallagher arranges similar bonds through outside carriers and reviews limits and policy terms for plan clients. Founder Shield places ERISA fidelity bonds at statutory amounts; Gallagher adds peer analysis to plan sponsors' limit setting. ## Founder Shield vs Gallagher Fidelity Bonds Summary Founder Shield places ERISA fidelity bonds at the statutory 10% amount, capped at $500,000 or $1 million for plans holding employer securities; Gallagher helps sponsors set limits using peer analysis. [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") [4](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ## What Are the Key Differences Between Founder Shield and Gallagher Fidelity Bonds? ### Statutory Amount or Limit-Setting Advice Founder Shield places ERISA fidelity bonds for plan sponsors and states the 10% requirement, with statutory caps of $500,000 or $1 million for plans holding employer securities. Gallagher adds peer analysis and an exposure index to help plan sponsors set fidelity limits. Choose Founder Shield if you need an ERISA bond placed at the statutory amount; choose Gallagher if you want help benchmarking the limit. [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") [4](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ### How Limits Are Explained Founder Shield restates the federal ERISA bonding rule: at least 10% of plan funds handled, minimum $1,000 and maximum $500,000 (up to $1 million for plans holding employer securities), and notes that is the statutory minimum rather than its own cap. Gallagher ties limit-setting to a client’s required ERISA bond limits and says its method includes peer analysis using third-party databases and an exposure index developed by the Surety Association of America with the American Institute of Accountants. [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") [4](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ### Covered Acts and Claims Review Founder Shield lists theft and embezzlement of plan assets, forgery, misappropriation and larceny by people who handle benefit-plan funds. Gallagher does not publish that same list on the reviewed page; it says it reviews coverage so the carrier allows appropriate treatment of older incidents and does not use claims triggers that are too difficult to prove. Founder Shield says it places only with AM Best A- or better carriers; Gallagher’s page does not name insurers. [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") [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://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ## What Should You Confirm in Founder Shield and Gallagher Fidelity Bonds Quotes? - Ask Founder Shield which A-rated carrier would issue the ERISA bond and the actual penalty versus the statutory minimum. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") - Ask Gallagher for the recommended limit, the peer-analysis output, and whether the placement is a fidelity bond, a crime policy, or both. [4](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") - Confirm covered persons (plan fiduciaries, TPAs, employees who handle funds) on both forms. [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") [4](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") - Ask Gallagher how its older-incident and claims-trigger review would apply to the quoted wording. [4](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/ "Executive and Financial Risk Insurance") ## Founder Shield vs Gallagher Fidelity Bonds Compared | Criteria | Founder Shield ERISA Fidelity Bond | Gallagher Fidelity Bond Insurance | | --- | --- | --- | | Who It’s For | Founder Shield says this bond is required for plan sponsors offering a retirement plan, the fiduciaries who manage it, third-party administrators, and even small businesses with a simple 401(k). [1](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/ "ERISA Fidelity Bond") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: ERISA Fidelity Bond product page..) | Gallagher ties fidelity bond limit-setting to a client's required bond limits under ERISA, indicating this offering is aimed at plan sponsors and fiduciaries needing ERISA fidelity bonding rather than a general commercial audience. [4](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..) | | 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 ERISA Fidelity Bond with third-party carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. [2](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..) | Gallagher's Executive and Financial Risk practice places fidelity bond coverage with outside carriers alongside its employee-dishonesty (crime) coverage; it does not underwrite the bond. [4](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; fidelity bonds are described jointly with crime coverage, not as a fully separate section..) | ## About Founder Shield and Gallagher and Fidelity Bonds - [Founder Shield company profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/foundershield) · [Founder Shield customer reviews](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/foundershield/reviews) - [Gallagher company profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/gallagher) · [Gallagher customer reviews](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/gallagher/reviews) - [What Are Fidelity Bonds?](https://spot.insure/coverage/fidelity-bonds) ## Related Pages for Founder Shield vs Gallagher Fidelity Bonds - [Founder Shield vs Gallagher](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-gallagher): all coverage lines, business roles, service and claims. - [What Are Fidelity Bonds?](https://spot.insure/coverage/fidelity-bonds): Fidelity coverage can reimburse certain losses from employee theft; identify whether you need protection for company funds, client property or benefit-plan assets. - [Founder Shield Fidelity Bonds](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/foundershield/fidelity-bonds) - [Gallagher Fidelity Bonds](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/gallagher/fidelity-bonds) ## Sources for Founder Shield vs Gallagher Fidelity Bonds ### Sources About Founder Shield 1. [ERISA Fidelity Bond](https://foundershield.com/coverage/erisa-fidelity-bond/). Founder Shield; What Is ERISA Fidelity Bond Insurance?; Who Needs ERISA Fidelity Bond Insurance Coverage?; What Does ERISA Fidelity Bond Insurance Cover?. Accessed 2026-09-23. 2. [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. 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. ### Sources About Gallagher 4. [Executive and Financial Risk Insurance](https://www.ajg.com/insurance/executive-and-financial-risk-insurance/). Gallagher; Employee Dishonesty (Crime) and Fidelity Bond insurance section. Accessed 2026-09-23. Updated 2026-09-25. 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/fidelity-bonds.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)