Gallagher vs 
USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance
Gallagher’s D&O practice is built around SPACs and IPOs; USI brokers D&O through ExecuSafe for SMBs and a Technology practice that places seed-to-IPO accounts.
What Is Gallagher?
Gallagher is a business-insurance broker and risk-management consultancy. Its technology practice serves startups through global enterprises, alongside a separate small-business offering for IT professionals and an executive-risk practice covering D&O and transaction-related coverages. Woodruff Sawyer is now part of Gallagher. 1,2,3,4,5
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. 6,7,8
What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?
Directors and officers liability insurance addresses covered claims alleging wrongful acts in managing an organization. 11
Key Differences in D&O Insurance
Which Book They Describe
Gallagher and USI both broker D&O rather than underwrite it. Gallagher markets the line to SPACs around IPO and de-SPAC and to companies going public through an IPO or direct listing. USI targets small- and medium-sized businesses for ExecuSafe, while its Technology practice places D&O for software, hardware and communications clients from seed stage through IPO. 3 9 7
An SMB ExecuSafe inquiry is a different book from a Gallagher SPAC tower. A software company heading toward IPO could be quoted by USI’s Technology practice or by Gallagher’s listing practice. 3 9 7
How You Start
USI directs ExecuSafe inquiries to a named Select Business mailbox and routes Technology and Business Services inquiries to a named PC-inquiries mailbox or a local office. Gallagher’s Executive and Financial Risk practice is the intake for its D&O work. 9 7 10 3
How They Benchmark Limit
USI’s Technology practice cites a case study where benchmarking showed a software company was buying more D&O limit than peers, and says the resulting change saved more than $100,000 per year in D&O premium. Gallagher describes quantitative benchmarking of Side-A-only D&O use. Both are talking about how much limit to buy, measured two different ways. 7 3
What to Confirm in D&O Insurance Quotes
- Ask USI whether your placement would be ExecuSafe or Technology practice, and which insurer would issue. 9 7
- Ask Gallagher which carrier it would approach and how Side-A-only benchmarking would apply. 3
- Ask USI how the $100,000 premium-savings example was measured. 7
- If you are listing, ask Gallagher how pre- and post-IPO D&O would sit with related lines. 3
Offering Details
Gallagher vs USI Insurance Services D&O Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Gallagher Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability Insurance | USI ExecuSafe Directors & Officers Liability Program |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | 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. | 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. 9Company-reported. ExecuSafe article's "How USI Can Help" section. |
| Issuing Insurer | 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. | 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. 9Not publicly disclosed. ExecuSafe article and Technology/Business Services practice pages as read on 2026-09-23. |
| Who It’s For | 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. | 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. 9,7Company-reported. ExecuSafe article eligibility framing and Technology practice client description. |
| Coverage Features | 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. | 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. 9Company-reported. 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 | 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. | 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. 9Not publicly disclosed. Third-party statistic cited by USI to illustrate exposure, not USI's own placement data. |
| Risk Services | 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. | 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. 7Company-reported. Single case study on the Technology practice page; company-reported outcome, not independently verified. |
| How to Apply | Not described in the reviewed sources. | 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. 9,7,10Company-reported. Contact instructions on the ExecuSafe article and the Technology and Business Services pages. |
| Claims Support | 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. |
Full Comparison
More Gallagher vs USI Insurance Services Comparisons
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Sources
Gallagher
- Technology Insurance. Gallagher; Introduction; Solutions and coverages for the technology industry: Technology errors and omissions including cyber, Intellectual property insurance, Product liability, Employee benefits; Data-driven insights; global network. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses. Gallagher Small Business; Protection for IT Professionals & Their Technology-Based Businesses; recommended coverage menu, including Surety Bond Programs; Connect With An Advisor. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Executive and Financial Risk Insurance. Gallagher; Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability insurance section; Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) section; IPO and direct listings section; Executive and Financial Risk Practice Summary. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Legal Information. Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher. Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16.
USI Insurance Services
- The Power of ONE. USI Insurance Services; History, client-count, nationwide office, and P&C / benefits / personal risk / retirement description. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology Insurance. 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.
- Commissions and Fees. USI Insurance Services; Licensed-producer authority, insurer-paid commission default, contingent compensation, and client request right. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Protect Your Company and Personal Assets From 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.
- Business Services. USI Insurance Services; USI advises clients...and provides solutions for...Directors & Officers Liability... Accessed 2026-09-23.
D&O Insurance Guide
- Glossary of Business Insurance Terms. The Hartford; Directors and Officers Liability Insurance; Errors and Omissions Insurance; Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
