Founder Shield vs Risklytics 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.

Risklytics Insurance Services is a licensed insurance producer (NPN 22311838) that places Risklytics Directors & Officers Insurance with outside carriers; it says it does not underwrite policies itself. ⁸Company-reported. About page; describes Risklytics' brokerage model generally, restated for this line.

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.

Risklytics does not name the carrier that underwrites Risklytics Directors & Officers Insurance on its site. It says it places business with specialist insurers willing to write robotics, autonomy and AI risk; the issuing carrier appears on the bound policy. ^11,8Company-reported. Lines page and about page; no specific insurer is published for this line.

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.

Risklytics says the norm is buying D&O at or before a startup's first priced round, since term sheets and incoming board members typically require it as a closing condition. ¹¹Company-reported. Lines page.

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.

Risklytics describes D&O as protecting a founder's personal assets when an investor or regulator sues over how the company was run, citing an investor suit after a down round and a regulator inquiry into AI capability claims as examples, and distinguishes it from Tech E&O, which answers a customer's product-failure claim instead. ¹¹Company-reported. Lines page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

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.

Risklytics lists a typical ask of $1 million to $3 million for venture-backed companies for this line. ¹¹Company-reported. Lines page; actual limits are set on the bound policy.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Risklytics calls D&O easy to get for venture-backed companies with a clean story, describing quick placement for that segment. ¹¹Company-reported. Lines 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.

You start Risklytics Directors & Officers Insurance through Risklytics' online application. Risklytics says there is no broker fee on top of the premium and a licensed producer stays on the file until the program binds; its commission is paid by the carrier out of the premium either way. ^12,8Company-reported. Pricing page describes the general application and fee process, not a line-specific form.