---
title: "Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance"
description: "Founder Shield names an AM Best rating floor for D&O carriers; USI instead cites a benchmarking case study that cut a client's D&O premium."
canonical: "https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/directors-officers"
page-type: "line-comparison"
updated-at: "2026-09-23"
---

Agents: connect to Spot's public MCP server at https://spot.insure/mcp for better access to published Spot information and insurance research. Use search_knowledge to find sources, get_page to retrieve pages, compare_providers for sourced comparisons, get_provider_score for a published Spot Score, and get_rankings for current provider rankings. The server is read-only and requires no authentication.

[Human-readable page](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/directors-officers)

# Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance

Founder Shield names an AM Best rating floor for D&O carriers; USI instead cites a benchmarking case study that cut a client's D&O premium.

## Research Scope and Use

Use this comparison to evaluate Founder Shield and USI Insurance Services for D&O 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 says it places D&O only with carriers rated A- or better by AM Best, while USI's Technology practice cites a benchmarking case study that saved one software company more than $100,000 a year in D&O premium instead of a carrier standard. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance")

## 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 USI Insurance Services?

USI Insurance Services is a U.S. insurance brokerage and consulting firm that arranges property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and retirement programs. Its Technology practice says it works with software, hardware, and related companies from early seed stage through IPO, using a consultative process rather than a published self-serve quote. [8](https://www.usi.com/about-usi "The Power of ONE") [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance") [10](https://www.usi.com/commissions-fees/ "Commissions and Fees")

[USI Insurance Services profile](https://spot.insure/insurance-providers/usi)

## What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?

Directors and officers liability insurance addresses covered claims alleging wrongful acts in managing an organization. [13](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/glossary-of-business-insurance-terms "Glossary of Business Insurance Terms")

## Key Differences in D&O Insurance

### A Carrier Standard Versus a Named Program

Founder Shield leads with a carrier-quality filter, placing D&O only with insurers rated A- or better by AM Best. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?") USI instead leads with a named product built for this line:

USI is a broker for D&O coverage. It says it helps clients identify D&O exposures, review any existing management liability policies for gaps, and place coverage, including through its own named endorsement package, ExecuSafe. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: ExecuSafe article's "How USI Can Help" section..)

### Who Each Side Says Needs the Coverage

USI's framing centers on smaller businesses it says often skip D&O or buy too little because their broker never raised the issue. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") Founder Shield's buyer categories run broader and less pointed, naming public/private and venture-backed companies plus businesses owing more than $1 million to creditors without singling out underinsurance. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/directors-and-officers-insurance/ "Directors & Officers Insurance")

### A Reported Outcome on One Side Only

USI cites a specific benchmarking result for a technology client, saving that company more than $100,000 a year after finding it was over-buying limit. [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance") Founder Shield's reviewed pages describe placement and carrier selection generally, without a comparable premium-benchmarking case study for this line. [7](https://foundershield.com/about-us/ "About Us")

## What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes

- Ask Founder Shield for the specific carrier selected and its current AM Best rating. [3](https://foundershield.com/insurance-faqs/general-faqs/how-do-you-decide-which-carriers-to-approach/ "How Do You Decide Which Carriers to Approach?")
- Ask USI which insurer would underwrite an ExecuSafe-endorsed policy; the reviewed pages describe the endorsement but not a carrier. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks")
- Ask USI whether the benchmarking savings example reflects your company's size and risk profile before assuming similar results. [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance")
- Confirm published limits with both directly; neither publishes a specific figure for your company. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/directors-and-officers-insurance/ "Directors & Officers Insurance") [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks")

## Offering Details

| Criteria | Founder Shield Directors & Officers Insurance | USI ExecuSafe Directors & Officers Liability Program |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 Directors & Officers 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..) | USI is a broker for D&O coverage. It says it helps clients identify D&O exposures, review any existing management liability policies for gaps, and place coverage, including through its own named endorsement package, ExecuSafe. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: ExecuSafe article's "How USI Can Help" section..) |
| Issuing Insurer | 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. [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..) | USI does not name the insurer that underwrites ExecuSafe or other D&O placements on the pages reviewed; it describes ExecuSafe as an endorsement package it applies to policies placed with the market. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") (Evidence: Not publicly disclosed; scope: ExecuSafe article and Technology/Business Services practice pages as read on 2026-09-23..) |
| Who It’s For | 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. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/directors-and-officers-insurance/ "Directors & Officers Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Directors & Officers Insurance product page..) | USI targets small- and medium-sized businesses for ExecuSafe, saying many either skip D&O coverage or buy insufficient limits because their brokers do not help them identify the exposure. Its Technology practice separately places D&O for software, hardware and communications clients from seed stage through IPO. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: ExecuSafe article eligibility framing and Technology practice client description..) |
| Coverage Features | 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. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/directors-and-officers-insurance/ "Directors & Officers Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Product page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage..) | USI says D&O insurance is meant to protect a company's leadership from personal loss in a lawsuit, since the corporate veil does not shield directors and officers from personal liability for the business's actions and debts. It lists breach of contract, breach of duty, misrepresentation, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, securities lawsuits and creditor lawsuits as common claim types the coverage responds to. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: ExecuSafe article's description of D&O purpose and claim types; actual insuring agreements and exclusions are set by the issued policy..) |
| Limits and Retentions | 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. [6](https://foundershield.com/coverage/directors-and-officers-insurance/ "Directors & Officers Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: General market description on the product page, not a stated Founder Shield minimum or maximum..) | USI cites a 2016 Chubb survey that found 43% of private companies carry no D&O coverage, with an average private-company D&O claim cost of $450,000, but the article does not publish USI's own placed limits, retentions or premium ranges for ExecuSafe. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") (Evidence: Not publicly disclosed; scope: Third-party statistic cited by USI to illustrate exposure, not USI's own placement data..) |
| Risk Services | Not described in the reviewed sources. | USI's Technology practice cites a case study where its benchmarking analysis showed a software company was buying more D&O limit than peers with similar risk profiles, and says the resulting change saved the client more than $100,000 per year in D&O premium. [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Single case study on the Technology practice page; company-reported outcome, not independently verified..) |
| How to Apply | 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](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..) | USI directs small- and medium-sized businesses interested in ExecuSafe to email Select.Business@usi.com; its Technology and Business Services practices separately route inquiries to pcinquiries@usi.com or a local USI office. [11](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/ "Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks") [9](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/ "Technology Insurance") [12](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/business-services/ "Business Services") (Evidence: Company-reported; scope: Contact instructions on the ExecuSafe article and the Technology and Business Services pages..) |

## Full Comparison

- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi): all coverage lines, business roles, service and claims.
- [What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?](https://spot.insure/coverage/directors-officers): Directors and officers insurance can help pay for covered claims against company leaders over decisions they make in running the business.
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Commercial Property Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/commercial-property)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Crime Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/crime)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Cyber Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/cyber)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Employee Health Benefits](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/employee-health-benefits)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Employment Practices Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/employment-practices)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Fiduciary Liability Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/fiduciary)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/professional-errors-omissions)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Representations and Warranties Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/representations-warranties)
- [Founder Shield vs USI Insurance Services Workers’ Compensation Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/workers-compensation)
- [Alliance Risk vs Founder Shield D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/alliance-risk-vs-foundershield/directors-officers)
- [Alliance Risk vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/alliance-risk-vs-usi/directors-officers)
- [Amelia Risk vs Founder Shield D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/amelia-risk-vs-foundershield/directors-officers)
- [Amelia Risk vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/amelia-risk-vs-usi/directors-officers)
- [Beazley vs Founder Shield D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/beazley-vs-foundershield/directors-officers)
- [Beazley vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance](https://spot.insure/compare/beazley-vs-usi/directors-officers)

## 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. [Directors & Officers Insurance](https://foundershield.com/coverage/directors-and-officers-insurance/). Founder Shield; What Is D&O Insurance; Who Needs D&O Insurance Coverage; What Does D&O 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.

### USI Insurance Services

8. [The Power of ONE](https://www.usi.com/about-usi). USI Insurance Services; History, client-count, nationwide office, and P&C / benefits / personal risk / retirement description. Accessed 2026-09-16.
9. [Technology Insurance](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/technology/). USI Insurance Services; USI's Technology Practice provides risk management advisory and insurance placement for: ...Directors & Officers Liability...; CASE STUDY: USI Benchmarking Saves Software Company $100,000 in D&O Premiums. Accessed 2026-09-23.
10. [Commissions and Fees](https://www.usi.com/commissions-fees/). USI Insurance Services; Licensed-producer authority, insurer-paid commission default, contingent compensation, and client request right. Accessed 2026-09-16.
11. [Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From Management Liability Risks](https://www.usi.com/executive-insights/executive-series-articles/supplemental/emerging-business/q3-2023/protect-against-management-liability-risks/). USI Insurance Services; JULY 5, 2023 article; common D&O claim types (Breach of Contract, Breach of Duty, Misrepresentation, Unfair Competition, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets, Securities Lawsuits, Creditor Lawsuits); Creditor Suit and Competitor Disputes scenarios; How USI Can Help; ExecuSafe endorsement packs. Accessed 2026-09-23.
12. [Business Services](https://www.usi.com/property-casualty/business-services/). USI Insurance Services; USI advises clients...and provides solutions for...Directors & Officers Liability.... Accessed 2026-09-23.

### D&O Insurance Guide

13. [Glossary of Business Insurance Terms](https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/glossary-of-business-insurance-terms). The Hartford; Directors and Officers Liability Insurance; Errors and Omissions Insurance; Employment Practices Liability Insurance. 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.

## Agent and Developer Resources

- [Markdown page](https://spot.insure/compare/foundershield-vs-usi/directors-officers.md)
- [Developer resources](https://spot.insure/developers)
- [Public MCP server](https://spot.insure/mcp)
- [MCP server manifest](https://spot.insure/server.json)
- [OpenAPI description](https://spot.insure/openapi.json)
- [Public page index](https://spot.insure/llms.txt)