Founder Shield vs 
Heffernan Insurance Brokers: How Do They Compare for Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?
Founder Shield places HNOA through third-party carriers; Heffernan Insurance Brokers includes it in coverage for home health and care agencies.
Heffernan puts hired and non-owned auto inside its home-care, home-health, and hospice program for caregiver visits. Founder Shield brokers a liability-only policy for mobile employees, rentals, and volunteers. 1,4
What Are the Key Differences Between Founder Shield and Heffernan Insurance Brokers Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?
Caregiver Package Line Versus Liability-Only Brokerage
Heffernan places hired and non-owned auto liability inside its home-care, home-health, and hospice insurance program, alongside owned-auto and other package coverages, rather than underwriting the line itself. Founder Shield brokers a liability-only product with third-party carriers for mobile employees, rentals, and volunteers. Choose Heffernan if you run a care agency and want this coverage inside that caregiver program; choose Founder Shield if you need liability-only hired and non-owned auto outside a home-care package. 4 1 2
Home-Care Trades Versus Sales, Delivery, and Volunteer Driving
Heffernan markets the bundled auto coverage to home health, in-home care, hospice, staffing-agency, infusion-therapy, and home-health-aide businesses, and says those programs cover all states and agency sizes. Founder Shield markets hired and non-owned auto to businesses with mobile employees such as salespeople or delivery drivers, companies that rent vehicles, organizations that rely on volunteers, and small businesses without a company fleet. Healthcare visit driving can appear on both lists, but Heffernan's reviewed discussion is the home-care package, not a general volunteer or sales-force product. 4 1
Form Notes, Timing, and Carrier Floor
Founder Shield says the policy covers third-party bodily injury, property damage, and legal defense when personal auto denies or limits a business-use claim, and it excludes physical damage to the vehicle, company-owned vehicles, and injuries to the employee driver. Heffernan lists Non-owned and Hired Auto separately from Business/Owned Auto so caregiver personal and rental trips sit on a different agreement from the agency fleet, and it tells agencies to apply at least 30 days before serving clients. Founder Shield says it uses A- or better AM Best carriers; Heffernan's reviewed page does not publish limits or name the insurer. 1 3 4
What Should You Confirm in Founder Shield and Heffernan Insurance Brokers Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Quotes?
- Ask Founder Shield which A- or better carrier will issue the policy and whether volunteers are covered. 3 1
- Ask Heffernan how non-owned and hired auto differs from owned auto on the home-care package. 4
- Confirm Heffernan's 30-day application window if you are opening a care agency. 4
- Get limits from both quotes; Heffernan does not publish them. 4 1
Founder Shield vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers Hired and Non-Owned Auto Compared
Founder Shield vs Heffernan Insurance Brokers: Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Founder Shield Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance | Heffernan Hired and Non-Owned Auto Brokerage |
|---|---|---|
| Who It’s For | Founder Shield markets HNOA to businesses with mobile employees such as salespeople or delivery drivers, companies that rent vehicles, organizations that rely on volunteers, and small businesses without a company fleet. 1Company-reported. HNOA product page. | Heffernan markets this bundled auto coverage to home health, in-home care, hospice, staffing-agency, infusion-therapy, and home-health-aide businesses, and says its home care programs cover all states and agency sizes. 4Company-reported. Home Care Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; 'all states' is a company marketing statement, not a state-by-state availability table. |
| How to Apply | You request Founder Shield Hired and Non-Owned Auto 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. 2,3Company-reported. About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form. | Heffernan tells home care businesses to start the insurance application process at least 30 days before working with clients and to contact the firm for a free rate quote, since rates vary by state. 4Company-reported. Home Care Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; applies to the home care package generally, not solely to auto coverage. |
| Coverage Features | Founder Shield says HNOA is a liability-only policy covering third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage and legal defense costs when an employee uses a personal or rented vehicle for business and their personal auto policy denies or limits the claim. 1Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage. Founder Shield notes HNOA does not cover physical damage to the hired or non-owned vehicle itself, accidents involving company-owned vehicles, or injuries to the employee driving (covered instead by workers' compensation). 1Company-reported. HNOA product page. | The home care package lists Non-owned and Hired Auto alongside Business/Owned Auto, so caregivers driving personal or rented vehicles for client visits are covered under a separate insuring agreement from the agency's own fleet. 4Company-reported. Home Care Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; the page does not detail limits, exclusions, or whether hired/non-owned auto is sold on a stand-alone basis outside the home care package. |
| 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 Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance 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 places hired and non-owned auto liability as part of its home care, home health, and hospice insurance program, alongside owned-auto and other package coverages, rather than underwriting the coverage itself. 4Company-reported. Home Care Business Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; other Heffernan practices were not checked for this line. |
