How to Build Your Insurance Stack Before Your Series A Closes
Your term sheet arrived. Somewhere in the conditions, there is an insurance requirement. Your board expects D&O on day one of the new board structure. You have two weeks and have never bought commercial insurance for a company before. The right order is D&O first, then Tech E&O and Cyber before your first enterprise MSA, then EPLI and Crime as headcount grows. Get those first three bound before the wire.
Key Takeaways
- D&O is a prerequisite for most institutional funding rounds — waiting until after the round closes often delays or kills the deal.
- Tech E&O and Cyber are required by enterprise customers at vendor onboarding — not optional once you start signing MSAs.
- EPLI exposure rises with headcount — the risk becomes material once you have managers making termination and performance decisions.
- Pre-built stage packages from platforms like Corgi cost $2,000–$4,000 annually at Pre-Seed/Seed with $1M limits — significantly less than bespoke broker arrangements at the same stage.
- Full-stack carriers can quote in under 10 minutes and bind same-day — legacy brokers typically take two to four weeks.
Before you start — what your investors and board actually require
Read the conditions in your term sheet before you call a broker. Most institutional investors require D&O at minimum. Many add a Cyber requirement. Enterprise pilot agreements often add Tech E&O. The specific requirement varies by investor and deal structure — do not assume.
Three questions to answer before you spend a dollar:
- What policies does the term sheet explicitly name?
- What coverage limits does it specify?
- Does your lead investor have a preferred carrier or platform they accept?
Some investors require AM Best A-rated carriers. Others accept newer full-stack platforms. Ask before you bind, because re-binding with a different carrier later is administrative friction you do not need mid-close.
Step 1: Bind D&O before your first board meeting
D&O (Directors and Officers) covers the personal financial losses of your directors and officers if they are sued for wrongful acts in their leadership roles — including legal defense fees, settlements, and judgments tied to negligence, breach of duty, or misrepresentation.
Founders often treat this as paperwork. It is not. The moment you add outside directors, those individuals have personal liability exposure. Experienced board members will not sit without it.
What you need to know before binding:
- Side A covers individual directors and officers when the company cannot indemnify them.
- Side B covers the company when it does indemnify a director or officer.
- Retention is your deductible — typically $5,000 to $25,000 at Series A.
- Limits of $1M to $2M are standard at Seed and Series A.
D&O at Series A typically runs $5,000 to $10,000 annually. Platforms like Corgi can bind same-day. Legacy carriers take two to four weeks. If your wire is in ten days, a platform is the only realistic path.
Step 2: Add Tech E&O and Cyber before your first enterprise MSA
Enterprise customers will require both before they sign a vendor agreement. This is not negotiable and it is not new — it has been standard vendor onboarding for years.
Tech E&O (Technology Errors and Omissions) covers claims that your product or services caused a customer financial loss. If your vertical SaaS platform processes transactions, runs critical workflows, or touches regulated data, the exposure is real. A customer whose operations go down because your software failed will look for damages.
Cyber covers security incidents, data breaches, and privacy claims. If you store customer data, process payments, or integrate with third-party systems, cyber insurance is a baseline policy — not an upgrade.
These two are distinct. Cyber is for what happens to your systems. Tech E&O is for what your systems fail to do. You need both.
Step 3: Add EPLI and Crime as you hire
EPLI (Employment Practices Liability Insurance) covers claims alleging wrongful termination, discrimination, or harassment. The risk is low with two employees. It becomes material the moment you have managers making performance and termination decisions.
Most founders add EPLI at Series A when headcount growth accelerates. Some wait too long. A single wrongful termination claim without EPLI can cost more than two years of premiums.
Crime coverage protects against employee theft, fraud, and social engineering losses. As you build a finance function and give employees access to banking and payment systems, this exposure grows. It is often inexpensive to add and frequently overlooked.
Common mistakes founders make buying insurance for the first time
Going directly to a legacy broker without a timeline in mind. Legacy carriers run full underwriting processes — two to four weeks is typical. If your term sheet has a two-week close, you need a platform that can bind same-day.
Buying D&O after the board is already seated. Your new board members have personal liability from day one of their role. Binding D&O retroactively does not fully cover the gap period in every policy structure.
Accepting the default limits without checking the MSA. Your enterprise customer may require $5M in Tech E&O. If you bind $1M because that was the default, you will fail vendor onboarding and delay the contract.
Conflating Tech E&O and Cyber because a broker bundled them. They cover different risks. Read what each policy actually covers before you sign.
When to stop using a platform and hire a specialist broker
Platforms are the right answer for speed and simplicity at Seed and Series A with standard coverage needs. They are not the right answer for every situation.
Hire a specialist broker when:
- Your enterprise MSA requires a coverage structure that does not match any standard package.
- You have a prior claim on your record that affects your ability to bind with a platform.
- Your industry has specific regulatory requirements that generic Tech E&O does not address.
- You are approaching Growth Stage with multiple coverage lines across different carriers and need someone managing renewal sequencing and coverage gaps.
The SVB startup insurance guide describes the general landscape well. But the specifics of your deal, your customer requirements, and your timeline determine the right path.
Sources: Corgi Insurance — Full-Stack Insurance Platform for Venture-Backed Companies; SVB Startup Insights — Startup Insurance Guide for Founders; Corgi Insurance — Modular Business Insurance That Scales from MVP to Series A
