HUB International vs StartupInsurance.ai: How Do They Compare for D&O Insurance?

HUB markets D&O brokerage to three segments: private companies with customer and supplier relationships, nonprofits with advisory boards or committees, and public companies with shareholders. ¹Company-reported. D&O product page target-market description; not an underwriting appetite statement.

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. ³Company-reported. Homepage narrative example; not a stated underwriting eligibility rule (e.g., minimum funding stage or headcount).

HUB directs D&O prospects to "Connect With a Broker" rather than an online quote or bind flow. ¹Company-reported. D&O product page call to action.

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." ⁴Company-reported. Initial coverage-selection screen of the quote application; does not show the underwriting questions that follow for this line.

HUB describes D&O coverage it arranges as addressing three areas: personal asset protection for monetary judgments and settlements from an alleged breach of duty, loyalty or care; defense in civil, criminal, judicial, administrative, regulatory or arbitration proceedings; and workplace and employment protection for breach-of-fiduciary-duty and employment-related suits. ¹Company-reported. Product-page marketing description; the issued policy's insuring agreements, conditions and exclusions control an actual claim.

HUB says D&O claims it sees can come from regulators, donors, clients or customers, suppliers, competitors, employees, shareholders and creditors. ¹Company-reported. Product-page list of potential claim sources; not a guarantee of coverage for any specific claimant.

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. ³Company-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.

HUB brokers D&O liability coverage for private, nonprofit and public-company clients as part of its ProEx Professional & Executive Risk practice, rather than underwriting the policy itself. ^1,2Company-reported. D&O product page and ProEx coverage list, read 2026-09-23. Neither page names an issuing insurer.

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. ^3,5Company-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.

HUB says its ProEx practice, which lists D&O among its Executive Liability coverages, provides analytics, litigation support and risk-management services to clients of all sizes, led by a named ProEx practice leader. ²Company-reported. ProEx page team and services description; not specific to a single D&O engagement.

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. ³Company-reported. Homepage service description; a marketing offer describing what the review covers, not a report on any specific customer's D&O policy.