What information does a private company need for a D&O insurance quote in Texas?
By Mark Melliand, owner, Melliand Insurance Agency · 13 years as an independent agent · Published October 26, 2026
Short answer: A private-company D&O application typically asks who the company is, who owns and runs it, how it’s doing financially, what transactions are planned or recently completed, what coverage it has now, and whether any claims or known matters exist. Requirements vary by insurer, company, financial condition, ownership and the coverage requested. No single application is a universal checklist. The examples below come from two insurer applications, from Travelers and Chubb, and are illustrative only.
For what D&O covers (Sides A, B and C, exclusions and how it fits into management liability), see our guide to what directors and officers insurance covers. This guide focuses on preparing for the application. The insurer examples refer to the specific application editions listed under Sources; other editions and submissions may ask for different information.
Information to have ready
| Information | Why it may be requested | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Company identity and operations | Applications start with the legal name, address, year established and a description of operations. The reviewed Travelers application also asks for an industry (NAICS) code and employee and location counts. | Formation documents, assumed-name (DBA) filings, your website and internal records |
| Subsidiaries and other entities | The reviewed Travelers application asks whether the applicant owns 50% or more of, or has management control over, any subsidiary, and whether coverage is wanted for other entities. It notes that entities other than policy-defined subsidiaries aren’t covered unless scheduled by endorsement. The reviewed Chubb application uses a supplemental application for entities that aren’t subsidiaries. | Organizational chart, formation documents for each entity |
| Ownership | Ownership affects who may bring claims and how management is structured. The reviewed Travelers application asks for every shareholder, the percentage held (totaling 100%), the type of holder (for example, individual, trust, private equity or venture capital firm) and board representation. The reviewed Chubb application asks about holders of 10% or more. | Cap table, stock ledger, LLC operating agreement |
| Directors, officers and managers | The reviewed Travelers application asks for a list of directors and officers when the requested limit is above a stated amount, and asks about board or senior-management changes in the past 3 years. The reviewed Chubb application asks about changes in senior executive officers in the last or next 12 months. An LLC may be run by managers or members rather than a corporate board; describe the actual structure. | Governing documents, board or manager minutes |
| Financial statements and figures | Financial condition is part of underwriting. The reviewed Travelers application asks for current assets, current liabilities, long-term debt, net equity and net income. It requires a year-end financial statement for higher requested limits or for companies in business less than 3 years, and an interim statement for companies in business less than 3 years or in a development stage. The reviewed Chubb application requests the most recent annual financial statements. If statements are unavailable or do not contain the requested information, it provides financial fields to complete. | Your accountant or bookkeeper, year-end and interim statements |
| Financial-condition questions | The reviewed Travelers application asks about debt-covenant violations in the past 24 months and any going-concern opinion from an auditor in the past 3 years. The reviewed Chubb application asks about debt-covenant breaches and arrangements with creditors in the last or next 12 months. | Loan agreements, lender correspondence, your accountant |
| Transactions and business changes | Both reviewed applications ask about recent and planned transactions. The Travelers application covers private placements, reorganizations, divestitures, mergers and acquisitions in the past 24 months or next 12 months, and asks for any private placement memorandum from the past 12 months. The Chubb application asks about mergers, acquisitions, divestments, reorganizations and offerings in the last or next 12 months. | Board minutes, deal documents, your attorney |
| Current and requested coverage | Both reviewed applications ask for the current insurer, limits and retentions by coverage part. The Travelers application also asks for requested limits and retentions. The Chubb application also asks for a pending or prior proceedings date for current coverage. | Current declarations, policy forms and endorsements |
| Claims and known matters | Both reviewed applications ask about claims and proceedings within their stated lookback periods (3 years for the questions cited). Both also ask whether anyone proposed for coverage knows of circumstances that could lead to a claim. | Loss runs, insurer correspondence, your attorney, inquiry of the people proposed for coverage |
Company, ownership and governance
Answer for every entity proposed for coverage. The reviewed Travelers application says to answer on behalf of all entities seeking coverage unless told otherwise. If related companies share ownership or management, ask whether they need to be listed or scheduled separately.
Ownership questions differ by form: the reviewed Travelers application asks for every shareholder, the reviewed Chubb application for holders of 10% or more. The Travelers application also asks whether shareholders are related to each other, to directors or officers, or to the founders, and whether the company issues different classes of shares. Give the information the specific application asks for, using its definitions.
For an LLC, describe who manages it (managers, members or a board of managers), as the governing documents set it out. Don’t assume every LLC has a corporate board.
Financial information
Insurers differ in what they ask for. The reviewed Travelers application has a short financial chart. It requires a year-end statement for higher requested limits or for companies in business less than 3 years, and an interim statement for companies in business less than 3 years or in a development stage. The reviewed Chubb application requests the most recent annual financial statements. If statements are unavailable or do not contain the requested information, it provides financial fields to complete. Neither application reviewed specifies whether statements must be internally prepared, compiled, reviewed or audited. Ask what the insurer needs before ordering anything new.
Both reviewed applications ask directly about financial difficulty. The Travelers application asks about debt-covenant violations and going-concern opinions; the Chubb application asks about debt-covenant breaches and arrangements with creditors. Answer these as asked and give the explanation requested. No particular financial result guarantees acceptance or rejection.
Transactions and business changes
Raise planned fundraising, securities offerings, acquisitions, mergers, sales or restructurings early. Applications ask about them, and these events can affect how coverage applies. The coverage guide explains this in more detail. Both the reviewed Travelers and Chubb applications ask about some transactions in the next 12 months as well as recent ones. The Travelers application also asks whether the company files, or expects to file, securities documents with the SEC.
This guide isn’t securities-law advice. Your attorney is the right source for questions about an offering itself.
Prior insurance and requested coverage
Have the current declarations, policy forms and endorsements available. Be ready to say whether you want D&O alone or a management liability package, and which other parts you’re considering, such as employment practices, fiduciary or crime. Those parts have their own application questions. For employment practices, see our EPLI quote preparation guide.
Ask whether limits would be shared across coverage parts. Also ask whether and how continuity dates, such as a pending or prior proceedings date, would be preserved or changed if you change insurers.
If an application asks about cancellation, nonrenewal or declined coverage, answer it as written. Neither the Travelers nor the Chubb application reviewed asks this, but other applications may.
Claims and known matters
Use the application’s own questions, definitions and lookback periods. Don’t assume a standard period. In the reviewed Travelers and Chubb applications, the claim questions cited look back 3 years. The Travelers application asks about matters “whether or not insured” and asks for loss details for the past 3 years: date, nature of the claim, amount paid and status.
Questions about known circumstances need particular care. The reviewed Chubb application states that a matter arising from facts known to a proposed insured is excluded from the proposed policy whether or not it was disclosed. The reviewed Travelers application asks about known circumstances when the company has no current coverage or is requesting a higher limit. Before answering, make a reasonable inquiry of the people proposed for coverage.
Application disclosure is not notice under your current policy
Answering a prospective insurer’s application and giving notice under your existing policy are two separate things. The reviewed Chubb application states that it “does not constitute notice to the Company under any policy of a Claim, potential Claim or other Matter.” If a claim or circumstance arises, review your current policy’s notice provisions and give notice as that policy requires, separately from any application. Claims-made timing is explained in our claims-made, retroactive date and tail coverage guide.
Review before you sign
Answer every question completely and accurately, and review the representations and signature statements before signing.
- On the reviewed Travelers application, the signer represents that the answers are true and complete “to the best of their knowledge and belief, and after reasonable inquiry,” and agrees to notify Travelers of material changes. The application is deemed part of any policy issued, except in North Carolina and Utah.
- The reviewed Chubb application requires immediate written notice of any material change before the policy’s start date. It says a quote may be modified or withdrawn, and that submitting the application doesn’t obligate either party.
Ask about anything you’re unsure how to answer.
Staged checklist
Initial discussion
- Legal name, DBA, entity type, formation date and a description of operations
- Entities proposed for coverage, and how they’re related
- A general ownership summary and management structure
- Current coverage: insurer, limits, retentions and dates
- Whether you want D&O alone or a package, and which parts
- Requested effective date
- Whether any claims or known matters exist (a general answer, not files)
Fuller submission (as the specific application requests)
- The completed application
- Financial statements and figures in the form requested
- Ownership table and, if requested, a list of directors, officers or managers
- Organizational chart or governing documents, if requested
- Explanations for any “yes” answers
- Loss information for the stated lookback period
Matters needing careful review
- Known-circumstances questions and how they’ll be applied
- Recent or planned transactions and offerings
- Financial-condition questions
- Claims answers and definitions
- Signature statements and material-change obligations
- Any notice owed under your current policy, given separately
Newly formed companies and first outside investment
A newer company may have little financial history. The reviewed Travelers application requires a year-end financial statement when the company has been in business less than 3 years, and an interim statement when it has been in business less than 3 years or is in a development stage. If you provide projections, label them as projections and state the assumptions behind them.
If you’re raising your first outside investment, tell us before closing. Applications may ask about the type of investor, board representation, private placements and related documents; the reviewed Travelers application asks about all four.
None of this guarantees eligibility. Each insurer decides based on its own application and underwriting.
Protect sensitive information
Don’t send confidential financial statements, ownership schedules, tax or other identification numbers, legal correspondence or litigation files through ordinary email or a website form. Ask which documents are actually necessary, and arrange an appropriate secure way to deliver them.
Questions to ask before choosing or changing coverage
- Do I need D&O only, or a package with other coverage parts?
- Are limits shared across coverage parts?
- What retention applies to each coverage side and part?
- Will pending or prior proceedings dates and other continuity terms be preserved or changed if I switch from my current policy, and how?
- How will known circumstances be treated on this application?
- Do related entities need to be listed or scheduled?
- What type of financial statements are needed?
- Does the application become part of the policy?
- What do I need to report under my current policy before changing insurers?
Sources
The applications below are cited for illustration only. They aren’t confirmed as current Texas offerings; requirements vary by insurer and change over time.
- Travelers, Private Company Multi-Coverage Application, ACF-N-14101 Ed. 07-24 (Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; general, organization, insurance, financial, private company D&O, required attachments and signature sections cited, not the EPL, fiduciary or crime sections): application PDF; Travelers D&O applications and forms directory
- Chubb, The ForeFront Portfolio for Private Companies, New Business Application, APP-55410_PRV (10/24) (Federal Insurance Company; general, coverage requested, financial and organizational, D&O and entity liability, prior knowledge, material change and declarations sections cited, not the EPL, fiduciary, crime or other optional sections): application PDF
About Melliand Insurance Agency
Melliand Insurance Agency is an independently operated insurance agency affiliated with Premier Group Insurance (PGI), a nationwide agency network.
Preparing for a D&O application or reviewing your current coverage? Call (972) 346-4666 or email melliandinsurance@gmail.com. Hours are Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM Central. We don’t have a walk-in office. In-person visits are by appointment at your home or business throughout DFW.
This guide is general information, not legal, accounting or securities advice or a statement of coverage. Coverage depends on the actual policy, and only the policy terms control.