Institutional investors and incoming board members expect directors and officers coverage in place before they join — not after.
Ranges commonly seen. Your contracts and exposure decide the answer.
If any of these are true right now, this is the situation you're in.
Directors and officers liability protects the people who run the company. When an investor, employee, competitor or regulator alleges that a management decision caused harm, D&O pays defence costs and settlements. Without it, those land on individuals personally and on a balance sheet meant to fund product.
It becomes non-negotiable the moment there is a board seat you do not control. Experienced independent directors ask what the tower looks like before they accept, and most institutional investors put it in the closing checklist. It is usually cheaper to buy than founders expect, and dramatically more expensive to need and not have.
Timing is the practical issue. Your submission goes to D&O markets within six hours of being complete — financing documents, cap table summary, board list and financials — and your portal updates as responses arrive. Starting the week of the closing call is tight but usually workable if we know it is coming.
In priority order, with the reason each one is on the list.
You tell us about the business once. We review your submission and come back with anything still outstanding.
Contracts, exposures, limits and requirements checked against what you actually need to carry — and what you don't.
We approach carrier and wholesale markets suited to the risk, with a submission built to be read rather than skimmed.
Options land in your portal as markets respond, compared side by side — including the exclusions that decide whether a claim pays.
We coordinate binding with the carrier as soon as you choose, and issue certificates once coverage is confirmed in writing.
Usually not until you take institutional money or add an outside director. The moment there is a board seat you do not control, buy it.
Only while the company has money and is legally permitted to indemnify. In insolvency or a derivative suit, indemnification is exactly what fails. That is what Side A exists for.
We put a complete submission in front of D&O markets within six hours and post responses to your portal as they arrive. Tell us the closing date and we work backwards from it.
Build a SaaS insurance checklist around customer contracts, data, employees and funding. Know what to prepare before requesting quotes.
Read the guide: SaaS Insurance Checklist for Founders and Finance TeamsPrepare for a startup D&O review with questions about board protection, company coverage, financing requirements, exclusions and prior acts.
Read the guide: D&O Insurance for Startups: Questions Before a Funding RoundTell us what changed. A broker reads it the same business day and comes back with what it means and what it costs.
