AIG vs Cowbell: How Do They Compare for Management Liability Insurance?

AIG names multiple organization types; Cowbell’s Zurich Select Plus is sized for private companies under 250 employees and $50 million in assets, accessed through appointed wholesalers. 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

What Is Cowbell Insurance?

Cowbell suits small and midsize businesses seeking cyber options by company size, with technology E&O and Zurich management-liability options also available; firms needing broad commercial coverage should compare a full-service broker. Some security services cost extra. 4,5,6

Read the Cowbell profile

Read the Cowbell Management Liability Insurance page

What Is Management Liability Insurance?

Management liability packages can combine D&O and employment-practices coverage for leader and workplace claims, while benefit-plan protection may be a separate part. Shared limits can let a claim in one part reduce what is available for another, so compare the limits across the quote. 8,9,10,11,12,13

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Management Liability Insurance

Cowbell and Zurich set measurable Select Plus size boundaries

AIG describes management-liability solutions for public, private and nonprofit organizations, financial institutions and professional-services firms. Cowbell says Zurich Select Plus targets private companies with fewer than 250 employees and less than $50 million in assets, across industries including technology, manufacturing, construction and retail. That makes the Cowbell route more specifically bounded in the published record; companies outside those measures should ask AIG or another market about eligibility. 3 7

Access differs for buyers and insurance intermediaries

AIG links applicants to forms and national product contacts. Cowbell says Select Plus is available only to Zurich-appointed excess-and-surplus wholesalers through its platform, not directly to businesses. The modules include private-company liability, employment practices, fiduciary liability and crime. A company interested in the product therefore needs an eligible wholesaler to access the quote, while AIG’s page directs prospects to product contacts. 3 6

What to Confirm in Management Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Confirm your employee count, assets, eligible industry and wholesaler access before pursuing Select Plus. 7
  • Verify the insurer entity and selected modules on any Cowbell proposal; request the relevant AIG forms. 6 3

Review Scores

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

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

Cowbell

2.0/ 10

Review Score

1 rated source

Cowbell has one public rating we could find: 1.0 out of 5 on SourceForge from three reviews in 2023. That's too few and too old to say much.[8]

Read Cowbell reviews

Offering Details

AIG vs Cowbell: Management Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaAIG Management & Professional Liability portfolioCowbell / Zurich Select Plus Management Liability
Role in This Line

Confirm in your quote.

Cowbell is the distribution platform, not the insurer: it gives Zurich-appointed E&S wholesalers API access to Zurich's Select Plus management liability product, a modular suite Zurich already sells to larger companies, sized down for small and midsize private businesses. Zurich's own page confirms Select Plus is 'Zurich Insurance, in collaboration with Cowbell,' offered as a 'proprietary form,' with identical FAQ wording to Cowbell's page. 7,6Company-reported. Cowbell intro paragraph and FAQ; Zurich intro and 'Delivering speed from quoting to policy issuance' section.

Issuing Insurer

Confirm in your quote.

Both Cowbell and Zurich say the product is offered on Zurich admitted paper and backed by 'the reputable Zurich Claims service.' Neither page names the specific underwriting Zurich subsidiary or policy-issuing entity; Zurich's site footer copyright reads 'Zurich American Insurance Company,' but that is a general site-wide notice, not a stated policy-issuer confirmation for Select Plus specifically. 7,6Company-reported. Management liability page intro; Zurich page intro and footer.

Who It’s For

AIG describes solutions for public, private and nonprofit organizations, financial institutions and professional services firms. 3Company-reported. AIG US product portfolio. Claim limitation: No individual revenue/industry/state eligibility established. Section limitation: Company marketing does not substitute for the issued policy, state-specific forms or entity-level confirmation.

Cowbell says the product targets SME private companies with under 250 employees and under $50M in assets, and lists target industries including specialty chemicals, technology, energy/utilities, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, retail, and integrated freight & logistics. 7Company-reported. FAQ 'What size accounts are targeted?' and 'Target industries' list.

Coverage Features

AIG’s portfolio includes D&O, EPL, fiduciary, crime/fidelity and kidnap-and-ransom products. 3Company-reported. AIG US management-liability portfolio. Claim limitation: Not proof every line can be bundled. Section limitation: Company marketing does not substitute for the issued policy, state-specific forms or entity-level confirmation.

Zurich's own page names the four Select Plus modules as 'Private Management and Company Liability,' 'Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability,' 'Fiduciary Liability,' and 'Crime Insurance' -- broader labels than the plain 'D&O' and 'EPL' shorthand Cowbell's FAQ uses -- and says a buyer can combine up to four of these modules into one policy. 6Company-reported. Zurich page 'Protect your small to midsize business with Zurich's Select Plus Management Liability solutions' section.

Cowbell describes management liability as a modular umbrella covering four lines within the Select Plus product: private company D&O, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, and crime, each addressing a different category of management or employee risk. 7Company-reported. FAQ 'What is the difference between management liability and D&O?'.

Limits and Retentions

Confirm in your quote.

Neither the Cowbell page nor Zurich's own Select Plus page publishes limit or retention amounts for the modules; both were read in full and neither discloses a figure. 7,6Not publicly disclosed. Cowbell page and Zurich page, both read on 2026-09-23.

Risk Services

Confirm in your quote.

Cowbell says the product is backed by Zurich's claims service, and frames the offering's advantage as faster quoting and issuance through Cowbell's technology platform compared with Zurich's standard process, rather than describing separate risk-control services. 7Company-reported. Page intro and FAQ 'What makes the Zurich Select Plus offering through Cowbell unique?'.

How to Apply

AIG’s Management & Professional Liability portfolio page links to application forms and national product/distribution team contacts. 3Company-reported. Resources linked from the Management & Professional Liability portfolio page; the claim does not map a specific form to each named product. Claim limitation: The page does not identify which form applies to each named product, who submits applications, a mandatory broker route, eligibility, binding authority or the issuing affiliate. Section limitation: Company marketing does not substitute for the issued policy, state-specific forms or entity-level confirmation.

Access is limited to appointed wholesalers of Zurich Excess & Surplus (E&S): a wholesaler already appointed by Zurich E&S can reach the product through the Cowbell platform via API, and is directed to contact a Cowbell or Zurich representative to set that up. The product is not sold directly to businesses. 7Company-reported. FAQ 'How can I access the Zurich Select Plus management liability product through Cowbell?'.

Claims Support

Confirm in your quote.

Cowbell says the most common management liability claims fall under employment practices liability, citing discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and retaliation as the most frequent claim types. 7Company-reported. FAQ 'What is the most common management liability claim?'; describes claim frequency, not Cowbell's own claims-handling process.

Full Comparison

More AIG vs Cowbell Comparisons

Other Management Liability Insurance Comparisons

Sources

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. Management & Professional Liability Insurance | AIG US. AIG US; Products and solutions; Financial Lines applications; Forms and Applications; Brokers: Meet Your AIG Team, lines 327–336. Accessed 2026-09-28.

Cowbell

  1. Cowbell. Cowbell; What We Do; Assess, Insure, Respond and Improve; U.S. navigation; footer legal disclosure. Accessed 2026-09-15.
  2. Prime Tech Product Overview. Cowbell; PDF pp. 1–4: non-admitted combined Technology E&O and cyber for technology businesses up to $1 billion; up to $5 million; surplus lines in 50 states; edition PRIME TECH US0001 1025. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Small and Midsize Business Management Liability | Zurich Select Plus. Zurich North America; Intro: 'Zurich Insurance, in collaboration with Cowbell, offers the "Zurich Select Plus" proprietary form'; 'Delivering speed from quoting to policy issuance' section; module names (Private Management and Company Liability, Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability, Fiduciary Liability, Crime Insurance); Targeted industries list; FAQ (identical to the Cowbell page's FAQ); footer copyright. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  4. Management liability coverage for small & medium enterprises. Cowbell; Intro paragraph on the Zurich collaboration; FAQ: access, account size, what makes the offering unique, difference between management liability and D&O, why a company needs it, most common claim type; Target industries list. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Management Liability Insurance Guide

  1. Glossary of Insurance Terms. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Directors & Officers Liability; Employment Practices Liability Coverage; introductory scope note. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Management Liability Insurance. The Hartford; What Is Management Liability Insurance?; Who Does Management Liability Insurance Protect. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. The ForeFront Portfolio. Chubb; Introduction; optional coverage parts; private, not-for-profit and healthcare portfolios. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Private Company Directors and Officers Liability Coverage. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; I p.1; III pp.2–3; IV pp.4–6; VI pp.6–8. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  5. Liability Coverage Terms and Conditions. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; III.B p.3; III.C pp.4–5; III.D–G pp.5–6. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  6. Private Company Directors and Officers Liability Coverage Application. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; I–II pp.1–2; III–IV pp.2–3; V–VIII pp.3–4. 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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