Insurance for Founders Community

Preferred Insurance Broker to the for the FOUNDERS Community

Supporting ambitious founders, entrepreneurs and growing businesses across Bristol, Bath, and the Southwest.

As the preferred insurance broker to the for the FOUNDERS community, we help founders protect what they're building.

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Why Founders Need Different Advice

Many founders arrange insurance once and don't revisit it until renewal.

However, growing businesses face changing risks including:

  • Taking on employees.
  • Raising investment.
  • Signing larger client contracts.
  • Handling customer data.
  • Taking office space.
  • Recruiting directors and senior leaders.
  • Expanding internationally.
  • Acquiring other businesses.

We help founders identify risks early and ensure insurance grows alongside the business.

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Ideal Clients

We work particularly well with:

✅ Early-stage businesses

✅ SEIS and EIS-backed companies

✅ Angel-backed businesses

✅ Technology companies

✅ Professional services firms

✅ Creatives

✅ Consultancies

✅ Scaling founder-led businesses

Common Founder Questions

1. Do I need Directors' & Officers' (D&O) insurance before taking investment?

Not always, but it is often advisable to arrange D&O insurance before or alongside an investment round.

D&O insurance protects founders, directors and officers against claims alleging wrongful management decisions, breaches of duty, misrepresentation, or regulatory investigations. Once external investors join the business, there is greater scrutiny of strategic decisions and governance.

Many angel investors and venture capital firms will expect D&O cover to be in place before, or shortly after, completing an investment.

Typical trigger points:

  • Raising external investment
  • Appointing non-founder directors
  • Creating a formal board
  • Preparing for rapid growth or acquisition

4. Do contractors need employers' liability cover?

It depends on the working relationship.

In the UK, Employers' Liability insurance is generally required where individuals are effectively working under your direction and control, even if they are labelled as contractors.

Factors that insurers and regulators may consider include:

  • Who controls the work
  • Whether equipment is provided
  • Whether the individual works exclusively for you
  • How integrated they are into your business

Genuine independent contractors may not need to be covered under your Employers' Liability policy, but many businesses choose to extend protection where there is uncertainty.

A broker can review your contractor arrangements and advise on the most appropriate position.

7. How should my insurance change after funding?

Funding is usually a signal to review your insurance programme rather than simply increase limits.

Areas that often change include:

  • Higher D&O limits
  • Additional cyber protection
  • Employment Practices Liability (EPL) as headcount grows
  • Professional Indemnity limits aligned to larger contracts
  • Key person protection for critical founders
  • Fidelity/crime cover for increased financial exposure

A post-funding insurance review helps ensure your protection keeps pace with growth.

2. What insurance do angel investors expect?

There is no universal requirement, but investors typically expect founders to have considered the key risks facing the business.

The most commonly requested covers are:

  • Directors' & Officers' Insurance (D&O) – protects directors and officers personally.
  • Cyber Insurance – increasingly important for technology businesses and companies handling customer data.
  • Professional Indemnity (PI) – essential if you provide advice, consultancy, software or professional services.
  • Employers' Liability – legally required in most cases if you employ staff in the UK.
  • Public Liability – often required when dealing with customers, suppliers or events.

Investors want confidence that a significant claim will not derail the business they are backing.

5. What insurance does my client contract require?

Many founders only discover insurance requirements when a contract lands in front of them.

Common requirements include:

  • Professional Indemnity
  • Public Liability
  • Employers' Liability
  • Cyber Insurance
  • Product Liability
  • Specific minimum indemnity limits (often £1m, £2m, £5m or £10m)

Large corporates frequently request evidence of insurance before onboarding suppliers.

It's worth reviewing contract requirements before signing, as some obligations can be difficult or expensive to arrange retrospectively.

At Sense Risk, we review customer contracts from an insurance perspective and explain what is genuinely required and what can potentially be negotiated.

3. When should I buy cyber insurance?

Usually sooner than most founders think.

If your business:

  • Stores customer data
  • Uses cloud-based systems
  • Takes online payments
  • Relies on email and digital infrastructure
  • Operates a SaaS or technology platform

then cyber exposures already exist.

Cyber incidents can affect businesses of any size. Modern cyber policies often provide access to specialist incident response teams, legal support, forensic investigators and ransomware response experts, in addition to financial protection.

For most startups, cyber insurance becomes worth considering as soon as customer data or business-critical systems are involved.

6. What happens if we expand overseas?

International growth can create new insurance considerations.

You may need to review:

  • Territorial limits on your existing policies
  • Local insurance requirements
  • Hiring employees overseas
  • Product sales in new territories
  • Overseas directors and officers exposures
  • Data protection and cyber obligations in different jurisdictions

Certain countries, particularly the USA and Canada, can create significantly different risk profiles and insurance requirements.

Before entering a new territory, it is sensible to review your insurance arrangements to ensure your cover grows with your business.

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for the Founders

We're proud to work in partnership with For The Founders, a community dedicated to supporting ambitious founders and business owners as they build and grow their businesses. Through expert guidance, practical resources and a strong network of support, they help founders navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship with confidence.

Learn more about For The Founders and the work they do by visiting their website:

https://ftfounders.com

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Not sure what cover your investor, client or contract requires?

Our team works with ambitious founders and growing businesses to design insurance programmes that support fundraising, recruitment, customer growth and international expansion.

Book a free insurance review with Sense Risk and we'll help you understand what cover you need today, and what can wait until later.