Risklytics vs USI Insurance Services 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.