Risklytics vs StartupInsurance.ai D&O Insurance

Risklytics Insurance Services is a licensed insurance producer (NPN 22311838) that places Risklytics Directors & Officers Insurance with outside carriers; it says it does not underwrite policies itself. ¹Company-reported. About page; describes Risklytics' brokerage model generally, restated for this line.

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.

Risklytics does not name the carrier that underwrites Risklytics Directors & Officers Insurance on its site. It says it places business with specialist insurers willing to write robotics, autonomy and AI risk; the issuing carrier appears on the bound policy. ^4,1Company-reported. Lines page and about page; no specific insurer is published for this line.

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.

Risklytics says the norm is buying D&O at or before a startup's first priced round, since term sheets and incoming board members typically require it as a closing condition. ⁴Company-reported. Lines page.

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).

Risklytics describes D&O as protecting a founder's personal assets when an investor or regulator sues over how the company was run, citing an investor suit after a down round and a regulator inquiry into AI capability claims as examples, and distinguishes it from Tech E&O, which answers a customer's product-failure claim instead. ⁴Company-reported. Lines page; the issued policy and declarations control actual coverage.

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.

Risklytics lists a typical ask of $1 million to $3 million for venture-backed companies for this line. ⁴Company-reported. Lines page; actual limits are set on the bound policy.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Risklytics calls D&O easy to get for venture-backed companies with a clean story, describing quick placement for that segment. ⁴Company-reported. Lines page.

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.

You start Risklytics Directors & Officers Insurance through Risklytics' online application. Risklytics says there is no broker fee on top of the premium and a licensed producer stays on the file until the program binds; its commission is paid by the carrier out of the premium either way. ^5,1Company-reported. Pricing page describes the general application and fee process, not a line-specific form.

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.