Heffernan Insurance Brokers vs 
Lockton Fiduciary Liability Insurance
Heffernan places fiduciary for family offices and businesses; Lockton describes typical policy grants, insureds and a dedicated claims team.
What Is Heffernan Insurance Brokers?
Heffernan Insurance Brokers is an independent, Walnut Creek–headquartered retail brokerage that arranges business insurance, employee benefits, and related services. Its technology practice markets to mid- and late-stage companies, including venture-funded and pre-IPO firms. 1,2,3
What Is Lockton?
Lockton is a privately held insurance brokerage that arranges commercial risk, employee benefits and retirement programs. US pages describe a technology practice and intermediary placement with insurers, not Lockton as the policy’s insurer. 5,6,7
What Is Fiduciary Liability Insurance?
Fiduciary liability insurance addresses covered claims alleging breaches of duties in managing employee benefit plans. 9,10
Key Differences in Fiduciary Liability Insurance
Client Segments Each Broker Names
Heffernan and Lockton both shop fiduciary liability rather than issue it. Heffernan splits the line between ordinary business-insurance clients and a family-office practice that also names trust companies, trustees, advisors, private equity, foundations and financial institutions. Lockton describes the product as protecting companies and the individuals who manage their employee benefit plans against mismanagement claims, without a family-office list. 3 4 8
Policy Structure Versus Line Listing
Lockton says a typical policy it places covers breaches of benefit laws, errors and omissions in plan administration, voluntary compliance loss, and, when the form says so, certain fines and penalties under HIPAA, the Pension Protection Act and the ACA. It also distinguishes fiduciary liability from an ERISA bond, which is legally required and sits in crime/fidelity cover for theft of plan assets. Heffernan’s family-office page lists fiduciary among other management-liability lines without describing those grants or the ERISA-bond distinction. 4 8
Lockton also lists who a typical policy can cover: the organization, the plans, employees, defined subsidiaries, spouses or domestic partners, estates and heirs, past employees kept as fiduciaries or consultants, and committees and trustees. 8
Claims Counsel Versus Risk Assessment
Lockton’s Professional & Executive Risk Claims team puts insurance and claims counsel inside the broking team so a claims strategy exists before a fiduciary claim. Heffernan’s family-office practice instead describes a Risk Management Assessment of structures, assets and exposures, plus help navigating claims, reached through a Private Client Group specialist rather than a self-serve quote. 4 8
What to Confirm in Fiduciary Liability Insurance Quotes
- Ask Lockton whether HIPAA, Pension Protection Act and ACA fines are actually scheduled, since it says they apply only when explicitly stated. 8
- Ask Heffernan which practice is placing you—business insurance or family office—and who is named as an insured compared with Lockton’s typical list. 4 8
- Confirm you still have any legally required ERISA bond; Lockton treats that as a different product from fiduciary liability. 8
- Ask how each firm will handle a claim: Lockton’s integrated claims counsel versus Heffernan’s assessment-and-navigation description. 4 8
Offering Details
Heffernan Insurance Brokers vs Lockton Fiduciary Liability Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Heffernan Fiduciary Liability Insurance | Lockton Fiduciary Liability Insurance Brokerage |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | Heffernan places fiduciary liability coverage within its general corporate/executive-protection lineup and again within a dedicated family-office and financial-institution practice. It shops and places the coverage with insurers rather than underwriting it. 3,4Company-reported. Business Insurance and Family Office page listings; no dedicated fiduciary-liability product page was found. | Lockton places fiduciary liability insurance to protect companies and the individuals who manage their employee benefit plans against claims of mismanagement; Lockton is the broker, not the insurer. 8Company-reported. Fiduciary liability product page as read 2026-09-23. |
| Issuing Insurer | The reviewed pages do not name the insurer or insurers that issue fiduciary liability policies Heffernan places for either business clients or family offices. 3,4Not publicly disclosed. Business Insurance and Family Office pages as read on 2026-09-23. | The page does not name the insurers Lockton places fiduciary liability coverage with. 8Not publicly disclosed. Fiduciary liability page checked 2026-09-23. |
| Who It’s For | Heffernan offers fiduciary liability to two named segments: general business clients through its business-insurance brokerage, and family offices, trust companies, trustees, financial advisors, private equity firms, foundations, and other financial institutions through its family-office practice. 3,4Company-reported. Direct practice-page listings; no minimum size or asset-under-management threshold was published for the coverage specifically. | Lockton says coverage under a fiduciary liability policy it places typically extends to the organization, the benefit plans, employees, subsidiaries as defined in the policy, spouses/domestic partners, estates/heirs, past employees retained as fiduciaries or consultants, and committees and trustees. 8Company-reported. Fiduciary liability product page as read 2026-09-23. |
| Coverage Features | On the family-office page, fiduciary liability insurance is listed alongside directors and officers, professional liability, employment practices liability, trustee liability, and other management-liability-adjacent lines as coverage the practice can arrange, without describing the policy's insuring agreement or exclusions. 4Company-reported. Family Office page as read on 2026-09-23. | Lockton says a typical fiduciary liability policy it places covers breaches of benefit laws, errors and omissions in plan administration, voluntary compliance loss, and, when explicitly stated, certain fines and penalties such as under HIPAA, the Pension Protection Act and the ACA. It also notes fiduciary liability is distinct from an ERISA bond, which is legally required and insures plan assets against theft under a crime/fidelity policy, whereas fiduciary liability is not legally required but covers governance and decision-making risk. 8Company-reported. Fiduciary liability product page as read 2026-09-23. General policy-structure description, not a specimen form. |
| Limits and Retentions | Neither page publishes a fiduciary-liability limit, retention, or premium range. 3,4Not found in reviewed sources. Business Insurance and Family Office pages as read on 2026-09-23. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| Risk Services | Heffernan's family-office practice describes a Risk Management Assessment: itemizing a client's structures, assets, and exposures; crafting insurance and risk-management strategies to close coverage gaps; and helping navigate claims, for its fiduciary and financial-institution client base. 4Company-reported. Family Office page as read on 2026-09-23; a company-described service, not a measured outcome. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| How to Apply | The family-office practice's fiduciary-liability coverage is reached through a named Private Client Group specialist contact rather than a self-service online quote flow. 4Company-reported. Family Office page as read on 2026-09-23; the general business-insurance page's fiduciary listing routes through Heffernan's general Contact Us form instead. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
| Claims Support | Not described in the reviewed sources. | Lockton's Professional & Executive Risk Claims team integrates insurance and claims counsel within the broking team, which Lockton says is meant to have claims strategy in place before a fiduciary liability claim arises. 8Company-reported. Fiduciary liability product page as read 2026-09-23. |
Full Comparison
More Heffernan Insurance Brokers vs Lockton Comparisons
Other Fiduciary Liability Insurance Comparisons
Sources
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
- Our Story. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Headquartered in Walnut Creek; nationwide presence; founded 1988; employee owned; niche practices including technology. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology Company Insurance. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Pre-IPO and venture-funded heading; mid to late stage specialization; global expansion copy; self-insurance strategies; Key Markets list; Why Heffernan broker history; Joseph Talmadge practice leader; FAQ. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Heffernan Business Insurance Brokerage. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; Corporate and executive protection, such as employment practices liability, directors and officers liability, fiduciary responsibility, cyber liability, and kidnap and ransom are also available through our comprehensive business insurance programs. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Family Office. Heffernan Insurance Brokers; We serve: Family offices, Trust companies, Individual and professional trustees, Financial advisors/CPAs/attorneys, Private equity firms, Foundations, Financial institutions; Coverage for Family Offices, Trustees & Financial Firms: ... Fiduciary liability insurance ...; Risk Management Assessment section; contact Lacey Garrison. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Lockton
- Lockton United States. Lockton; Opening description of independent insurance brokerage for risk, benefits and retirement; Ask an Expert link to contact-us. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology. Lockton; Industry introduction; cyber liability heading; dedicated technology team; listed services including claims advocacy, contract review, directors and officers liability, and international program design; 24/7 service model. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- US Terms of Business. Lockton; Opening entity definition; Surplus Lines; Use of a Particular Insurer; Compensation Disclosure; servicing, claims handling and renewal language in Confidentiality section; Intermediaries. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Fiduciary Liability Insurance. Lockton; What is fiduciary liability insurance?; Typical coverage on a fiduciary liability policy; Who can be covered under a fiduciary liability policy?; How does fiduciary liability insurance complement similar lines of coverage; Claims management. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Fiduciary Liability Insurance Guide
- Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2008-04: Guidance Regarding ERISA Fidelity Bonding Requirements. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Q2 pp.2–3. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Fiduciary Liability Insurance. Travelers; What Is Fiduciary Liability Insurance? Accessed 2026-09-16.
