Founder Shield vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers: 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. Heffernan Insurance Brokers places separate fidelity bond options for home-care agencies and financial firms.

Founder Shield focuses on ERISA fidelity bonds for employee-benefit plans; Heffernan lists employee-dishonesty bonds for home-care and fidelity bonds for family offices. ^1,^4,⁵

What Are the Key Differences Between Founder Shield and Heffernan Insurance Brokers Fidelity Bonds?

Benefit Plans or Industry-Specific Bond Types

Founder Shield places ERISA fidelity for plan sponsors, fiduciaries and third-party administrators, with bond amounts tied to plan funds handled. Heffernan names an Employee Dishonesty Bond for home-care agencies and a separate financial-institution bond for family offices and financial advisers. Choose Founder Shield if you need an ERISA plan bond; choose Heffernan if you need one of its home-care or family-office bond types. ¹ ⁴ ⁵

What Each Page Says Is Covered

Founder Shield lists theft and embezzlement of plan assets, forgery, misappropriation and larceny by those who handle plan funds, and restates ERISA’s 10% / $1,000–$500,000 (or $1 million with employer securities) bonding rule. Heffernan’s two pages name the products but do not describe insuring agreements, exclusions or claim triggers, and they do not publish a penalty amount. ¹ ⁴ ⁵

Carriers and How You Apply

Founder Shield says it places only with AM Best A- or better carriers matched by industry, and you request the bond through its website or an advisor. Heffernan’s reviewed pages do not name an underwriter for either bond and do not describe an application path beyond the specialty-practice listings. ³ ² ⁴ ⁵

What Should You Confirm in Founder Shield and Heffernan Insurance Brokers Fidelity Bonds Quotes?

Ask Founder Shield for the issuing carrier, the bond penalty and whether the plan holds employer securities. ¹ ³
Ask Heffernan which of the two listed products applies and whether an ERISA bond is needed in addition. ⁴ ⁵
Get covered positions and deductibles from both, since Heffernan publishes none and Founder Shield restates only the statutory floor. ¹ ⁴
Confirm Heffernan’s claims path; its advocacy page does not describe fidelity-bond claims handling. ⁶

Founder Shield vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers Fidelity Bonds Compared

Founder Shield vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers: Fidelity Bonds: documented features by provider

Criteria	Founder Shield ERISA Fidelity Bond	Heffernan Employee Dishonesty / Fidelity Bonds
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). ¹Company-reported. ERISA Fidelity Bond product page.	Heffernan lists fidelity-type bonds for two named buyer segments: home care, home health, and hospice agencies, and family offices, trustees, financial advisors, private equity firms, and foundations. ^4,⁵Company-reported. Direct practice-page listings; no minimum size or other eligibility criteria for the bond specifically were published.
Coverage Features	Founder Shield lists theft and embezzlement of plan assets, forgery, misappropriation and larceny by those who handle a benefit plan's funds as what an ERISA fidelity bond covers. ¹Company-reported. Product page; the issued bond and its terms control actual coverage.	Heffernan uses two different bond product names for its two client segments: "Employee Dishonesty Bond" for home-care agencies and "Fidelity/financial institution bond" for family offices and financial firms. Neither page describes the bond's insuring agreement, exclusions, or claim triggers. ^4,⁵Company-reported. Home Care and Family Office pages as read on 2026-09-23.
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. ²Company-reported. About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line.	Heffernan arranges fidelity-type bonds as one line within two specialty practices: an Employee Dishonesty Bond for home-care agencies and a Fidelity/financial institution bond for family offices and financial firms. It places these bonds with insurers rather than issuing them itself. ^4,⁵Company-reported. Home Care and Family Office practice-page listings; no dedicated fidelity-bond product page was found.