Marsh McLennan Agency vs StartupInsurance.ai: How Do They Compare for D&O Insurance?

StartupInsurance.ai says a major carrier added a blanket AI exclusion to D&O and reviews existing policies for it; Marsh McLennan Agency describes wrongful-act defense costs. 5,3

What Is Marsh McLennan Agency?

Marsh McLennan Agency provides business insurance and employee health and benefits, alongside retirement, wealth, and private-client services across the United States and Canada. Its US small-business page lists six common coverage types and directs buyers to request a personalized quote by phone; the insurer and terms for a specific placement must be confirmed in the proposal. 1,2

Read the Marsh McLennan Agency profile

Read the Marsh McLennan Agency D&O Insurance page

What Is StartupInsurance.ai?

StartupInsurance.ai fits startups, including hardware, robotics and AI companies, that must meet a customer-contract or investor insurance requirement and want a free policy review it says takes 48 hours. Look elsewhere if you need a named AI-failure insurer or a documented claims advocate before you buy. 4,5

Read the StartupInsurance.ai profile

Read the StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance page

What Is Directors and Officers Insurance?

D&O insurance can help pay covered defense costs and losses from claims against company leaders over management decisions. If your organization has a board or executives, check whether the company itself is insured and whether legal bills reduce the limit. 8,9,10

Read the full coverage guide

What Are the Key Differences Between Marsh McLennan Agency and StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance?

AI exclusion wording and D&O defense

StartupInsurance.ai says one major carrier added a blanket AI exclusion to D&O, E&O and fiduciary forms, often at renewal, and that it checks existing D&O policies for the exclusion. Marsh McLennan Agency’s D&O claim describes defense costs for alleged wrongful acts. For a board claim involving AI disclosures, compare the actual endorsement language with the defense grant and ask whether an exclusion modifies the response to that alleged act. The reported market example does not establish that any specific quoted policy contains the exclusion. 5 3

Contract requirements and policy response

StartupInsurance.ai’s page connects AI exclusions with contract gaps found in existing programs. MMA’s product claim describes defense costs for alleged wrongful acts. If an investor or customer agreement requires D&O, ask each provider to compare the contract requirement with the actual proposed wording and identify whether any AI-related endorsement changes the defense grant. Treat StartupInsurance.ai’s review as a company-described service, not a determination that a specific policy has a gap. 5 3

What Should You Confirm in Marsh McLennan Agency and StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance Quotes?

  • Ask StartupInsurance.ai to show the AI exclusion language it looks for and whether a proposed replacement form contains it. 5
  • Ask Marsh McLennan Agency to show how the proposed defense grant interacts with any AI exclusion. 3

Marsh McLennan Agency and StartupInsurance.ai Review Scores for 2026

These averages can combine ratings for different products, locations, and customer groups, including approximate BBB grade conversions. Read each review for the sources, scope, and calculation.

Marsh McLennan Agency Review Score

8.2/ 10

Review Score

2 rated sources

There are almost no public customer reviews of Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA). Trustpilot shows 3.2 out of 5, but from a single review, and BBB shows an A grade with four complaints closed in three years.[8][9][1]

Read Marsh McLennan Agency reviews

StartupInsurance.ai Review Score

-/ 10

Review Score

No reviews found

StartupInsurance.ai has no public customer reviews or ratings that we found, so there is no Review Score. That isn't a bad sign, just not enough to judge.[8][1][6]

Read StartupInsurance.ai reviews

Marsh McLennan Agency vs StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance Compared

Marsh McLennan Agency vs StartupInsurance.ai: D&O Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaMarsh McLennan Agency directors officers (official overview)StartupInsurance.ai Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance
Role in This Line

Marsh McLennan Agency describes arranging directors officers for the audience stated on the cited product page. 3Company-reported. directors officers marketed by marsh-mclennan-agency; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

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. 5,7Company-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.

Issuing Insurer

Confirm in your quote.

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. 5Not publicly disclosed. Homepage carrier panel and ratings card; the panel is program-wide, not broken out by coverage line.

Who It’s For

Corporate executives, board members, and their organizations, as described by the source. 3Company-reported. directors officers marketed by marsh-mclennan-agency; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility 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. 5Company-reported. Homepage narrative example; not a stated underwriting eligibility rule (e.g., minimum funding stage or headcount).

Coverage Features

The cited product page describes D&O for alleged wrongful acts by directors or officers, including described defense costs for civil and criminal actions and investigations. Marketing description only; actual coverage, exclusions, conditions, limits, and availability depend on the issued policy and jurisdiction. 3Company-reported. directors officers marketed by marsh-mclennan-agency; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

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. 5Company-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.

Limits and Retentions

The cited overview does not set a universal limit or retention for this line. Ask for the proposed policy form, limits, retentions, exclusions, and conditions in the quote. 3Not publicly disclosed. Only the cited marketing page was reviewed for published limit and retention information; no policy-form entitlement is inferred.

Confirm in your quote.

Risk Services

Confirm in your quote.

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. 5Company-reported. Homepage service description; a marketing offer describing what the review covers, not a report on any specific customer's D&O policy.

How to Apply

The page invites organizations to contact a Marsh McLennan Agency adviser or specialist to discuss placement. The page does not establish a quote, bind, or coverage-effective timeline. 3Company-reported. directors officers marketed by marsh-mclennan-agency; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

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." 6Company-reported. Initial coverage-selection screen of the quote application; does not show the underwriting questions that follow for this line.

Related Pages for Marsh McLennan Agency vs StartupInsurance.ai D&O

D&O Insurance Pages for Marsh McLennan Agency and StartupInsurance.ai

Other Coverage Lines Compared for Marsh McLennan Agency vs StartupInsurance.ai

Other D&O Insurance Provider Comparisons

Sources for Marsh McLennan Agency vs StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance

Sources About Marsh McLennan Agency

  1. Who We Are. Marsh McLennan Agency; Lines 193-195: ‘a business of Marsh’ and company-listed service lines across US and Canada. This does not establish the legal entity for an account, corporate ownership chart, or insurer role. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. Small Business Insurance Solutions. Marsh McLennan Agency; Lines 205-207: small-business audience and call invitation; lines 224-249 list six coverage categories and short descriptions; line 264 is an embedded form whose function is not stated. No form submitted. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  3. Executive and Professional Liability | MMA. Marsh McLennan Agency; Directors and Officers section; claims for alleged wrongful acts and defense costs. Accessed 2026-09-30.

Sources About StartupInsurance.ai

  1. Company | Startup Insurance. StartupInsurance.ai; The story; founders; The free policy check; legal footer. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Startup Insurance | Coverage that clears the review. StartupInsurance.ai; The problem (“An investor's term sheet asked for D&O”); Wording that still says yes (“One major carrier added a blanket AI exclusion to D&O, E&O and fiduciary”); Coverage: What we place; The free policy check. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  3. Apply for Startup Insurance | StartupInsurance.ai. StartupInsurance.ai; Coverage-selection screen: Directors & Officers (D&O) — “Protects your board and executives from lawsuits”. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  4. Terms and Conditions. ContractorNerd; Section 2, Insurance Services: “ContractorNerd is an insurance agency/insurance producer... not an insurance company, does not underwrite insurance”; Section 2.A, Broker/Agent of Record. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Sources for the D&O Insurance Guide

  1. Glossary of Business Insurance Terms. The Hartford; Directors and Officers Liability Insurance; Errors and Omissions Insurance; Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. The Chubb Primary Directors & Officers and Entity Securities Liability Insurance. Chubb Group of Insurance Companies; hosted by eperils; I.A–C p.1; I.C p.1; I and III.A–B pp.1–2; VI Reporting pp.3–4. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Private Company Directors and Officers Liability Coverage. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; I.A–C p.1; I.C p.1; Header p.1 and VI.A pp.6–7. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . 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. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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