AIG vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance: How Do They Compare for Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance?

BHSI lists lead umbrella, follow-form excess, and retained-limit forms; AIG describes admitted and non-admitted lead and excess positions. 3,9

What Is AIG?

AIG is the marketing name for American International Group, Inc.; AIG says its insurance products are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates. Its U.S. business pages list commercial casualty, property, cyber, management and professional liability, and specialty programs, but a brand-level page does not identify the insurer for a particular policy. 1,2

Read the AIG profile

Read the AIG Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance page

What Is Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance?

BHSI provides commercial and specialty insurance in the U.S., with product-specific industry lists that include healthcare, energy and technology. Online quote and application submissions are nonbinding. 4,5,6,7

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance profile

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance page

What Is Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance?

Umbrella or excess insurance adds liability limits above the policies named in the quote after a covered claim exhausts their limits. It may fit if a contract sets higher limits; check which primary policies are listed and any gaps between them. 10,11,12,13,14

Read the full coverage guide

What Are the Key Differences Between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance?

Structure and attachment

BHSI lists manufacturers, real estate, grocery, financial institutions, construction, energy, and trucking among its target classes, and its appetite guide shows $10 million excess capacity with more for selected risks. AIG advertises up to $75 million on an individual account, subject to underwriting. These published figures are not equivalent quotes; compare the eligible class, attachment point, and capacity available for this specific tower. 3 8

Capacity and account support

BHSI lists lead umbrella, follow-form excess, and retained-limit forms. AIG markets lead umbrella, mid-excess, and high-excess positions, including admitted and non-admitted options. Buyers should ask each underwriter how its form follows the underlying liability policies and whether the proposed layer is lead or excess. 3 8

What Should You Confirm in AIG and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Quotes?

  • Ask AIG which position, attachment point, and legal insurer apply to the proposed tower. 3
  • Ask Lead umbrella to identify underlying policies, limits, and follow-form terms. 8

AIG and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Review Scores for 2026

These averages can combine ratings for different products, locations, and customer groups, including approximate BBB grade conversions. Read each review for the sources, scope, and calculation.

AIG Review Score

4.4/ 10

Review Score

2 rated sources

Customer ratings for AIG are low: Trustpilot shows 1.9 out of 5 from 252 reviews, and NerdWallet gives 2.5 stars and notes more claims complaints than expected. These pages cover many AIG products and countries, so they only loosely describe business insurance.[1][2]

Read AIG reviews

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Review Score

-/ 10

Review Score

No reviews found

The public ratings for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance are low but thin: Trustpilot shows 2.1 out of 5 from 9 reviews and BBB shows 1 out of 5 from 6. Both mix travel and commercial customers, so we don't count them in a score.[5][7]

Read Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance reviews

AIG vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Umbrella and Excess Liability Compared

AIG vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance: Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaAIG Excess Casualty and Lead UmbrellaLead umbrella and excess casualty
Role in This Line

AIG markets admitted and non-admitted excess casualty capacity, including lead umbrella, mid-excess and high-excess positions. The legal insurer and structure for a specific tower are account-specific. 3Company-reported. Role in this product is limited to the description on the linked AIG source.

Confirm in your quote.

Who It’s For

AIG describes lead umbrella, mid-excess and high-excess placements for a wide range of accounts, including small-business and corporate risks. It does not state an account-specific appetite or attachment eligibility. 3Company-reported. Audience is the segment AIG names on the linked source; this is not an underwriting decision, quote or guarantee of availability.

BHSI lists manufacturers/distributors, real estate, grocery, financial institutions, construction, energy and trucking as umbrella/excess targets. 9Company-reported. BHSI US lead umbrella/excess casualty targets. Material limitation: Targets remain subject to restrictions and underwriting appetite.

Coverage Features

AIG describes excess liability protection against severe liabilities and lead umbrella placements that may integrate with other casualty lines. The exact underlying policies, attachment points and follow-form terms depend on the placement. 3Company-reported. AIG’s public product description is not the policy. Actual entitlement depends on the applicable issued form, endorsements and declarations.

BHSI markets lead umbrella and excess casualty as an explicit product line and lists pollution/contractor-form features. 9Company-reported. US commercial casualty placements. Material limitation: Marketing overview; the manuscript and broker-specific forms require underwriting.

Limits and Retentions

AIG advertises up to $75 million total capacity on an individual-account basis, subject to underwriting. This is not a standard or guaranteed limit for a buyer. 3Not publicly disclosed. This statement reports only what the linked public source discloses and does not substitute for a quote or issued policy.

The appetite guide lists lead umbrella, follow-form excess and retained-limit forms, with $10 million excess capacity and more for selected risks. 8Company-reported. Select risks in the guide’s US casualty appetite. Material limitation: Capacity is not a quote or universally available layer; “more” is risk-selective.

Risk Services

AIG describes in-house risk experts, claims specialists, litigation-management strategies and integration with domestic and foreign casualty platforms. Those services do not change policy wording. 3Company-reported. The linked page describes company-reported support; specific account services and third-party arrangements must be confirmed.

Confirm in your quote.

Related Pages for AIG vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Umbrella and Excess Liability Pages for AIG and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Other Coverage Lines Compared for AIG vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Other Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Provider Comparisons

Sources for AIG vs Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Sources About AIG

  1. Investor Relations. American International Group, Inc. (AIG); About AIG and legal footer; lines 244–246 and 327–331. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. Business. AIG US; Surplus Lines heading and paragraph, lines 357–359. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Excess Casualty Insurance. AIG; Official AIG Excess Casualty page: admitted/non-admitted options, lead umbrella/mid/high excess placements, advertised per-account capacity subject to underwriting, domestic/foreign integration, risk and claims services. Accessed 2026-09-30.

Sources About Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

  1. At A Glance. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; United States section, zero-based PDF pages 49–53 (viewer pages 50–54): product/industry lists on pages 49–50; U.S. disclosure/version footer on page 53 is 2026-8-03 A. The 2026-09-14 A footer is on preceding European page 48, not the U.S. section. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. About Us. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; About BHSI; company profile page re-opened through official site on 2026-09-28; company says it is part of National Indemnity group. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Terms of Service. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Important Information Concerning Use of this Web Site, paragraphs 2–4; nonbinding submissions, contracted-agent authority, state variation, product availability and policy-specific terms. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Public Disclosure — Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Singapore Branch. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Singapore branch public disclosure, Company Profile ¶¶ 1–2; direct page opened 2026-09-28. ¶ 1 identifies BHSIC as a Nebraska-domiciled direct P&C insurer; ¶ 2 states BHSIC is wholly owned by National Indemnity Company, itself wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. Casualty Appetite Guide - U.S. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Casualty appetite PDF page 1: $50K minimum premium, GL/products/lead umbrella/excess lines, selected $10M excess capacity, placement forms and target/avoided classes; guide dated 2026-07-15. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. Casualty. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; US casualty product lines and features: Primary General Liability lines 10-34; Primary Products/Completed Operations Liability 35-44; Lead Umbrella and Excess Casualty 46-63. Accessed 2026-09-28.

Sources for the Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Guide

  1. Liability Insurance. Insurance Information Institute; Heading Umbrella Liability Insurance; sentence Umbrella Liability—also known as Excess Liability Insurance; underlying policies listed with limits; typically GL, auto and employers’ liability; starts when a covered loss exhausts the primary per occurrence limit; Most umbrella policies exclude EPL, professional liability, product recall, workers compensation, asbestos, pollution, war and terrorism. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Commercial Insurance Guide. California Department of Insurance; Commercial Umbrella; excess over a basic liability policy; auto/CGL/WC or any liability policy can be covered; may respond if basic policy not in force or for gaps; SIR when no underlying. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Lines of Insurance. California Department of Insurance; Umbrella or Excess Liability Policy: excess limits over existing liability; may provide additional coverages not provided by underlying policies. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Coverage Hub. Coverdash; Excess & Specialty: Umbrella; Excess Liability. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  5. Products. Kinro; 09 Umbrella/Excess: additional limits above scheduled underlying policies; when to review; reviewed with. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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