Founder Shield vs Lockton Employment Practices Liability Insurance

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. ⁷Company-reported. 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. ⁶Company-reported. EPLI product page.

Lockton designs EPL insurance programs for clients as their risk advisor and broker; it does not underwrite the coverage it places. ¹¹Company-reported. EPL product page as read 2026-09-23.

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. ³Company-reported. General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements.

The EPL page does not name the insurance carriers Lockton places employment practices liability coverage with. ¹¹Not publicly disclosed. EPL product page checked 2026-09-23.

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. ⁶Company-reported. EPLI product page.

Lockton says any organization that engages people for hire, regardless of size, industry, location, union participation or use of independent contractors, faces employment-related risk and should consider EPL insurance. ¹¹Company-reported. EPL product page as read 2026-09-23.

Founder Shield lists defense costs, settlements and judgments, and claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation as what EPLI responds to. ⁶Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

Lockton says a typical EPL policy it places covers legal defense costs for employee claims and official employment investigations, third-party discrimination or harassment claims from non-employees, punitive damages where insurable, and immigration-related employment claims. It separately offers standalone wage-and-hour coverage for claims like misclassification and unpaid overtime, since wage-and-hour claims are typically excluded from EPL policies. ¹¹Company-reported. EPL product page as read 2026-09-23. Describes typical policy features Lockton places, not a specimen form for any one client.

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. ^7,3Company-reported. About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Lockton's Professional & Executive Risk Claims team integrates insurance and claims counsel within the broking team from the start of the engagement, which Lockton says is meant to prepare the claims strategy before an EPL claim arises. ¹¹Company-reported. EPL product page as read 2026-09-23.