AIG vs CNA: How Do They Compare for Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance?

CNA says its forms align with most underlying terms and conditions; AIG offers lead umbrella and excess positions with attachment and follow-form terms set for the placement. 3,7

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

CNA Small Business Insurance: Products, Agents and Service

CNA directs small-business buyers to independent agents and describes CNA Connect as a businessowners policy for more than 600 small-business classes. Issuer and availability vary by policy and state, so confirm both in a quote. 4,5,6

Read the CNA profile

Read the CNA 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. 8,9,10,11,12

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance

Form and underlying coverage

CNA says its umbrella forms are designed to align with most underlying terms and conditions and lists several built-in enhancements, including crisis management, waiver of subrogation, and most-favorable venue. AIG describes lead umbrella placements that may integrate with other casualty lines, while exact attachment and follow-form terms depend on the account. Buyers should compare CNA’s listed enhancements with AIG’s proposed underlying schedule and wording. 3 7

Capacity and buyer support

AIG describes in-house risk experts, claims specialists, and litigation-management strategies. CNA highlights more than 50 years of commercial umbrella/excess underwriting and flexible underwriting. Ask both carriers how their claims teams coordinate with underlying insurers and whether the stated enhancements are in the quoted form. 3 7

What to Confirm in Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Ask AIG which position, attachment point, and legal insurer apply to the proposed tower. 3
  • Ask CNA Commercial to identify scheduled underlying policies, available limits, and form terms. 7

AIG and CNA 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

CNA Review Score

9.0/ 10

Review Score

1 rated source

Customer feedback on CNA is mixed and hard to compare. NerdWallet gave it 4.5 out of 5 for manufacturers, while Trustpilot shows about 1.4 out of 5 from 49 mostly self-selected reviews.[1][5]

Read CNA reviews

AIG vs CNA Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Compared

AIG vs CNA: Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaAIG Excess Casualty and Lead UmbrellaCNA Commercial Umbrella and Excess Liability
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.

Confirm in your quote.

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.

CNA says its umbrella forms are designed to align with most underlying terms and conditions. 7Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing CNA subsidiary may vary by product/state Product: United States commercial insurance Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: US commercial umbrella/excess Claim limitation: Company-reported; policy wording, underwriting and jurisdiction-specific availability control.

CNA lists key-employee replacement, crisis management, waiver of subrogation and most-favorable venue as built-in enhancements. 7Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing CNA subsidiary may vary by product/state Product: United States commercial insurance Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: US commercial umbrella/excess Claim limitation: Company-reported; policy wording, underwriting and jurisdiction-specific availability control.

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.

Confirm in your quote.

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.

CNA says its commercial umbrella/excess underwriting draws on more than 50 years of experience and offers flexible underwriting. 7Company-reported. Entity: CNA brand; issuing CNA subsidiary may vary by product/state Product: United States commercial insurance Jurisdiction: United States Research source scope: US commercial umbrella/excess Claim limitation: Company-reported; policy wording, underwriting and jurisdiction-specific availability control.

Related Pages for AIG vs CNA Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance

Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Pages for AIG and CNA

Other Coverage Lines Compared for AIG vs CNA

Other Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Provider Comparisons

Sources for AIG vs CNA Umbrella and Excess Liability 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 CNA

  1. Insurance for Small Businesses. CNA; Insurance for Small Businesses, lines 38-50 and 65-67 (CNA Central and agent route); lines 79-106 (product and stated appetite lists); page footer line 132 (CNA registered service mark). Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. CNA Connect Small Businessowners Policy (BOP) | CNA Insurance. CNA; CNA Connect; coverages, product range, services. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. General Disclaimer. CNA; General Disclaimer paragraphs 1 and 5 (HTML lines 24 and 28): CNA describes Continental Casualty Company and its relevant affiliates; references to CNA may include one or more CCC affiliates; each particular policy/product/service is the responsibility only of the specific CNA company that issues or supplies it. Footer line 57 identifies CNA Financial Corporation as trademark registrant. Re-read 2026-09-29. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  4. Umbrella Insurance and Excess Liability Insurance | CNA Insurance. CNA; Forms, enhancements, underwriting. 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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