---
title: "Founder Shield vs The Hartford Crime Insurance"
description: "Founder Shield places crime with A-rated third-party carriers; The Hartford includes crime in Private Choice Premier and a financial-institutions fidelity track."
canonical: "https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/crime"
page-type: "line-comparison"
updated-at: "2026-09-23"
---

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# Founder Shield vs The Hartford Crime Insurance

Founder Shield places crime with A-rated third-party carriers; The Hartford includes crime in Private Choice Premier and a financial-institutions fidelity track.

## Research Scope and Use

Use this comparison to evaluate Founder Shield and The Hartford for Crime Insurance against the same documented criteria. It identifies differences and questions to confirm; it does not select a winner for a particular business. Offering claims are what each provider publishes about this line unless marked otherwise. “Not found” describes the evidence reviewed, not proof that a feature is unavailable. Confirm the insurer, policy wording, limits, retentions, exclusions and cost in an actual quote.

## Summary

Founder Shield places crime with AM Best A-rated carriers and lists employee dishonesty, forgery, computer fraud and social-engineering funds-transfer fraud. The Hartford offers crime as one of five Private Choice Premier options and separately as bond and commercial crime (fidelity) for financial institutions, available to nonprofits, public companies and privately held firms. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance") [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote")

## What Is Founder Shield Insurance?

Founder Shield is a commercial insurance broker for venture-backed and growing businesses. Buyers can request coverage through its online portal and work with advisors on insurer selection, policy changes and claims reporting. [1](https://foundershield.com/ "Founder Shield") [2](https://apx.foundershield.com/ "Quote Portal") [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [4](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/what-if-our-company-grows-a-lot-or-things-change-during-the-year/ "What If Our Company Grows A Lot or Things Change During the Year?") [5](https://foundershield.com/claims/ "Claims")

[Founder Shield profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/foundershield)

## What Is The Hartford?

The Hartford is the brand of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc., whose subsidiaries underwrite property-and-casualty insurance and employee benefits. Small-business buyers can start online or by phone or work through independent agents, while the issuing company and state eligibility still have to be confirmed on a quote. [8](https://www.thehartford.com/legal-notice "Legal Notice") [9](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/saas-insurance "SaaS Insurance for Your Business") [10](https://www.thehartford.com/find-an-agent "Find a Local Insurance Agent")

[The Hartford profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/the-hartford)

## What Is Crime Insurance?

Crime insurance addresses business losses from specified theft and fraud risks, such as robbery, forgery and embezzlement. [12](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/09-comm/commercialguide.cfm "Commercial Insurance Guide")

## Key Differences in Crime Insurance

### Brokered Placement Versus Package Option

Founder Shield places crime with third-party carriers rated A- or better by AM Best, chosen for the client’s industry, and does not underwrite. The Hartford’s crime insurance is one of five options in Private Choice Premier and is also offered as bond and commercial crime (fidelity) in a financial-institutions product track. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [7](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us") [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote")

### How Each Describes Covered Acts

Founder Shield lists employee dishonesty by an identified employee, forgery or alteration, computer fraud, and funds-transfer fraud from social engineering. The Hartford says crime helps cover business-related crimes like employee theft, forgery or robbery, with a cash-register theft example. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance") [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote")

## What to Confirm in Crime Insurance Quotes

- Ask The Hartford whether crime is inside Private Choice Premier or the financial-institutions fidelity track. [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote")
- Ask Founder Shield which A-rated carrier is issuing. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?")
- Compare social-engineering funds-transfer on Founder Shield’s list with The Hartford bound policy. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance") [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote")
- Confirm whether robbery (Hartford’s example) and identified-employee dishonesty (Founder Shield) appear on each policy. [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote") [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance")
- Ask whether Founder Shield’s healthcare, financial services, non-profit and manufacturing/retail priority, or The Hartford’s nonprofit, public and private lineup, is the book on your quote. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance") [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote")

## Offering Details

| Criteria | Founder Shield Crime Insurance | The Hartford Crime Insurance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 Crime Insurance with third-party carriers rather than underwriting the policy itself. [7](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: About-us page; applies to Founder Shield's brokerage model generally, restated here for this line..) | The Hartford's crime insurance is one of five options in its Private Choice Premier management-liability package, and is offered separately as bond and commercial crime (fidelity) coverage within its financial-institutions product track. [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Management liability product page as read 2026-09-23..) |
| Issuing Insurer | Founder Shield says it places policies, including Founder Shield Crime 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. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: General carrier-selection FAQ, not specific to this line's placements..) | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| Who It’s For | Founder Shield calls this coverage a priority for healthcare, financial services, non-profit and manufacturing/retail companies because of their exposure to internal or external theft. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Crime Insurance product page..) | The Hartford's crime coverage is available to nonprofit organizations, publicly traded companies and privately-held companies as part of its management-liability lineup. [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Management liability product page as read 2026-09-23..) |
| Coverage Features | Founder Shield lists employee dishonesty (theft or embezzlement by an identified employee), forgery or alteration of financial instruments, computer fraud, and funds-transfer fraud from social engineering as the branches of crime coverage it places. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/ "Crime Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage..) | The Hartford says crime insurance helps cover business-related crimes like employee theft, forgery or robbery, giving as an example an employee stealing money from a cash register. [11](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance "Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Management liability product page as read 2026-09-23. General coverage description; the issued policy controls..) |
| How to Apply | You request Founder Shield Crime 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](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us") [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: About-us and carrier-selection pages describe the general placement process, not a line-specific application form..) | Not described in the reviewed sources. |

## Full Comparison

- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford): all coverage lines, business roles, service and claims.
- [What Is Crime Insurance?](https://spot.insure/coverage/crime): Crime insurance can help recover business losses from specified theft and fraud, including employee theft, forgery and payment fraud.
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Commercial Property Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/commercial-property)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Cyber Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/cyber)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/directors-officers)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/employment-practices)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Fiduciary Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/fiduciary)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford General Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/general-liability)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/hired-non-owned-auto)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/professional-errors-omissions)
- [Founder Shield vs The Hartford Workers’ Compensation Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-the-hartford/workers-compensation)
- [Alliance Risk vs Founder Shield Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/alliance-risk-vs-foundershield/crime)
- [Alliance Risk vs The Hartford Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/alliance-risk-vs-the-hartford/crime)
- [Beazley vs Founder Shield Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/beazley-vs-foundershield/crime)
- [Beazley vs The Hartford Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/beazley-vs-the-hartford/crime)
- [CFC vs Founder Shield Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/cfc-vs-foundershield/crime)
- [CFC vs The Hartford Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/cfc-vs-the-hartford/crime)

## Sources

### Founder Shield

1. [Founder Shield](https://foundershield.com/). Founder Shield; Opening broker description; Specialized Practices; Smart Tech, Smarter People; quote and sign-in links. Accessed 2026-09-15.
2. [Quote Portal](https://apx.foundershield.com/). Founder Shield; Public landing screen, Create Account and Sign In links. Accessed 2026-09-15.
3. [How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/). Founder Shield; FAQ answer on carrier selection: works exclusively with A-rated (AM Best) carriers, matched by industry appetite. Accessed 2026-09-23.
4. [What If Our Company Grows A Lot or Things Change During the Year?](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/what-if-our-company-grows-a-lot-or-things-change-during-the-year/). Founder Shield; Carl Niedbala answer, November 25, 2024: operational changes and coverage adjustments. Accessed 2026-09-15.
5. [Claims](https://foundershield.com/claims/). Founder Shield; Our Approach; How We Support Claims Management, steps 1–5; Make a claim link. Accessed 2026-09-15.
6. [Crime Insurance](https://foundershield.com/coverage/crime-insurance/). Founder Shield; What Is Crime Insurance?; Who Needs Crime Insurance Coverage?; What Does Crime Insurance Cover?. Accessed 2026-09-23.
7. [About Us](https://foundershield.com/about-us/). Founder Shield; “Founder Shield is the innovation arm of The Baldwin Group”; company history and mission. Accessed 2026-09-23.

### The Hartford

8. [Legal Notice](https://www.thehartford.com/legal-notice). The Hartford; The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. holding-company description; no representation that all products are available in all locations; P&C writing-company table as of December 31, 2025 including Hartford Fire (NAIC 19682) and Hartford Underwriters (NAIC 30104); life writing companies including Hartford Life and Accident (NAIC 70815). Accessed 2026-09-16.
9. [SaaS Insurance for Your Business](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/saas-insurance). The Hartford; Audience list (software startups, SaaS, IT consulting); Get a Business Owner’s Policy; What Is Business Owner’s Policy Insurance?; general liability introduction and Get a Quote; Get Commercial Property Insurance; Commercial Property Insurance for Your Business; Benefits of The Hartford’s WC Insurance for Employers and Employees; cyber insurance and data breach descriptions; Get a quote for cyber insurance; EPLI introduction and Private Choice Premier; add-ons (workers’ compensation, data breach, commercial auto); technology professional liability mention; small-business availability banner; industry-average premium footnote; footnote 2 state restrictions; footer product-availability disclosure. Accessed 2026-09-16.
10. [Find a Local Insurance Agent](https://www.thehartford.com/find-an-agent). The Hartford; Small-business and midsize agent locators; FAQ that buyers can purchase without an agent by calling or quoting online; statement that agents may charge fees. Accessed 2026-09-16.
11. [Management Liability Insurance | Get a Quote](https://www.thehartford.com/management-liability-insurance). The Hartford; Crime Insurance section; Who Does Management Liability Insurance Protect?; Management and Professional Liability Insurance for Financial Institutions (Bond and commercial crime (fidelity)). Accessed 2026-09-23.

### Crime Insurance Guide

12. [Commercial Insurance Guide](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/09-comm/commercialguide.cfm). California Department of Insurance; Crime. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated 2026-09-23. Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. [Editorial policy](https://spot.insure/editorial-policy). To suggest a correction, [contact Spot](https://spot.insure/contact) with the page URL and supporting source.

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