Founder Shield vs Newfront D&O Insurance

Founder Shield is a retail insurance brokerage, described on its site as “the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group,” and places Founder Shield Directors & Officers 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.

Newfront's Executive Risk practice brokers D&O coverage, negotiating placement for management-liability lines. Deirdre Finn, the Executive Risk Solutions Practice Leader, oversees this D&O, employment-practices and fiduciary book of business. ¹²Company-reported. Executive Risk offering page and Leadership section.

Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield Directors & Officers 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 reviewed Executive Risk page does not name the insurer or insurers that would issue a D&O policy placed through Newfront. ¹²Not publicly disclosed. Executive Risk page as read on 2026-09-23; carrier depends on the specific placement.

Founder Shield targets D&O at public and private businesses, venture-backed companies (it says almost every institutional term sheet requires the coverage), and businesses owing more than $1 million to creditors. ⁶Company-reported. Directors & Officers Insurance product page.

Newfront says it services private companies "from seed round through every series of capital funding," including over 120 unicorn companies, and has worked with over 500 publicly traded companies on D&O-relevant matters such as M&A and IPOs. ¹²Company-reported. Here for the Long Run section; company-reported client counts, not independently verified.

Founder Shield describes a three-part structure: Side A pays individual directors/officers directly when the company cannot or will not indemnify them, Side B reimburses the company for indemnification it pays, and Side C provides entity coverage for the company itself. ⁶Company-reported. Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

Newfront lists "Directors and Officers (D&O)—Private and public companies" and "Side A DIC D&O" among its Executive Risk Key Coverages, and says its D&O work includes protection against securities-related litigation and regulatory investigations. ¹²Company-reported. Key Coverages list and Committed to Client Advocacy section; Side A DIC is a difference-in-conditions option, and actual trigger and exclusions require the proposed wording.

Founder Shield's page describes a typical market base layer of $5 million to $10 million in combined A-B-C coverage, but does not publish a specific limit Founder Shield itself offers; actual limits are set on the quote. ⁶Company-reported. General market description on the product page, not a stated Founder Shield minimum or maximum.

The reviewed Executive Risk page does not publish D&O limits or retentions. ¹²Not publicly disclosed. Executive Risk page as read on 2026-09-23.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Newfront says clients get 24/7 access to their D&O program through its connected dashboard, and that renewals use automated, pre-populated historical data for faster submissions and approvals. ¹²Company-reported. Industry-Leading Technology section of the Executive Risk page.

You request Founder Shield Directors & Officers 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.

Newfront describes a process for private companies transitioning to public status through an IPO, deSPAC or direct listing, and you start a D&O placement by requesting a consultation through the Executive Risk page. ¹²Company-reported. Committed to Client Advocacy section and page call-to-action; no online quoting or binding described.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Newfront says it provides "integrated claims and coverage negotiation" for its Executive Risk lines, which would apply to a D&O claim. ¹²Company-reported. The Newfront Difference section; described across Executive Risk lines, not a D&O-specific claims workflow.