Gallagher vs StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance

Gallagher's Executive and Financial Risk practice places D&O liability insurance and advises on program design; it does not underwrite the policy, which is issued by a carrier selected during placement. ³Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page.

StartupInsurance.ai lists directors and officers coverage among the lines its startup program places, and its homepage cites an investor's term-sheet request for D&O as a typical reason a founder comes to it. ContractorNerd Insurance Services, LLC arranges the placement as agent/broker of record rather than underwriting it. ^8,9Company-reported. Homepage coverage list and "the problem" narrative, plus ContractorNerd's terms and conditions on its producer role; does not describe a specific D&O policy's terms.

The executive-and-financial-risk page does not name the insurer that would issue a given client's D&O policy; it says Gallagher weighs carrier qualifications and performance data alongside a client's own insurer history and preferences when deciding which carriers to approach. ³Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page.

The homepage's carrier panel names insurers with D&O capacity, such as Chubb (shown as A++ Admitted) and Coalition (shown as A- Surplus), but does not state that either one specifically underwrites D&O placements; the issuing insurer varies by placement. ⁸Not publicly disclosed. Homepage carrier panel and ratings card; the panel is program-wide, not broken out by coverage line.

Gallagher specifically markets D&O placement and advisory support to special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) around their IPO and de-SPAC process, and to companies going public through an IPO or direct listing. ³Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page, SPAC and IPO subsections.

StartupInsurance.ai frames D&O as coverage founders typically need once an investor's term sheet requires it, positioning the line for venture-backed startups with a board rather than pre-revenue companies with no outside investors. ⁸Company-reported. Homepage narrative example; not a stated underwriting eligibility rule (e.g., minimum funding stage or headcount).

Gallagher says its D&O team constructs policies addressing lawsuits from shareholders, employees, competitors, suppliers and government bodies, and can evaluate an existing D&O program against the market. ³Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; a service description, not a specific policy's insuring agreement.

StartupInsurance.ai says one major carrier added a blanket AI exclusion to D&O (along with E&O and fiduciary forms), typically arriving at renewal inside an endorsement, and that it reviews policies for this exclusion as part of its free check. ⁸Company-reported. Homepage "wording that still says yes" section; names the exclusion trend industrywide but not the carrier, and does not state whether any StartupInsurance.ai-placed D&O policy carries this specific endorsement.

The executive-and-financial-risk page does not publish D&O limits, retentions or premium ranges. ³Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

For SPACs and IPOs, Gallagher describes bundling D&O coverage before and after the IPO with related lines such as representations and warranties, E&O, cyber, tax and contingent liability coverage, plus risk-management and claims support at each stage. ³Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page, SPAC subsection.

StartupInsurance.ai's free policy check reviews an existing program for AI exclusions and contract gaps within 48 hours, and the homepage specifically calls out D&O as one of the forms affected by the AI-exclusion trend it checks for. ⁸Company-reported. Homepage service description; a marketing offer describing what the review covers, not a report on any specific customer's D&O policy.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Directors & Officers (D&O) is the first coverage box on StartupInsurance.ai's online quote-intake screen, described there as coverage that "protects your board and executives from lawsuits." ⁷Company-reported. Initial coverage-selection screen of the quote application; does not show the underwriting questions that follow for this line.

Gallagher says its Executive and Financial Risk practice has a dedicated claims-advocacy team with in-house attorneys specializing in these lines, and that it uses quantitative benchmarking, including measuring the judicious use of Side-A-only D&O coverage, to guide more precise coverage structures. ³Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice summary; describes a support service, not a guarantee of claim payment.

Not described in the reviewed sources.