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

AIG’s excess positions have account-specific structure. Nationwide describes an added liability layer above policies such as general liability or business auto, with terms dependent on the insured’s business and existing coverage. 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

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Read the AIG Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance page

What Is Nationwide?

Nationwide’s commercial catalogue includes common small-business policies and separate specialty products. A catalogue listing does not establish eligibility or policy terms; confirm the issuing company and coverage for your state and business. 4,5,6

Read the Nationwide profile

Read the Nationwide 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

Tower positions and underlying policies

AIG markets admitted and non-admitted capacity for lead umbrella, mid-excess, and high-excess positions. Nationwide describes an additional liability layer above policies such as general liability or business auto. Ask Nationwide which policies it will schedule and AIG where its layer attaches in the tower. 3 7

Information needed for account review

AIG describes a broad account range but does not state an account-specific appetite or attachment eligibility. Nationwide requests business, policy, loss, and payroll information and directs prospects to an agent or quote request. Prepare those details and ask both how operations, loss history, and underlying limits affect eligibility. 3 7

What to Confirm in Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Ask Nationwide which policy and loss details it needs and who issues the quote; ask AIG for the proposed insurer, attachment point, and account appetite decision. 3 7

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

Nationwide

7.8/ 10

Review Score

4 rated sources

Experts like Nationwide more than customers do. NerdWallet gives it 4.5 out of 5 for business insurance, while small-business customers on ConsumerAffairs give it 2.5 out of 5 from 19 reviews.[1][10]

Read Nationwide reviews

Offering Details

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

CriteriaAIG Excess Casualty and Lead UmbrellaNationwide umbrella excess (official overview)
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.

Nationwide describes offering umbrella excess for the audience stated on the cited product page. 7Company-reported. umbrella excess marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

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.

Businesses with underlying liability coverage; Nationwide requests business, policy, loss, and payroll information for a quote. 7Company-reported. umbrella excess marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

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.

The cited product page describes an added liability layer above underlying policies such as general liability or business auto; the page says terms and quote depend on the insured's business and underlying coverage. Marketing description only; actual coverage, exclusions, conditions, limits, and availability depend on the issued policy and jurisdiction. 7Company-reported. umbrella excess marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

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 cited overview does not set a universal limit or retention for this line. Ask for the proposed policy form, limits, retentions, exclusions, and conditions in the quote. 7Not publicly disclosed. Only the cited marketing page was reviewed for published limit and retention information; no policy-form entitlement is inferred.

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.

How to Apply

Confirm in your quote.

The page directs prospective customers to contact an agent or request a quote. The page does not establish a quote, bind, or coverage-effective timeline. 7Company-reported. umbrella excess marketed by nationwide; scope is limited to the cited official product overview and described audience. This is not a policy form or a universal eligibility statement.

Full Comparison

More AIG vs Nationwide Comparisons

Other Umbrella and Excess 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. 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.

Nationwide

  1. Small Business Insurance. Nationwide; Small business products and solutions, lines 185–214: BOP, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, umbrella, EPLI, cyber and surety; purchase guidance lines 235–247. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. Small Business Insurance Solutions for Agents. Nationwide; Specialized small commercial solutions: BOP, auto, workers’ compensation, cyber, EPLI, umbrella, inland marine and professional liability; page states appetite varies by state, lines 129–163, 191–193. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  3. Terms and Conditions for Nationwide.com. Nationwide; P&C products not offered by all companies/states; policy/declarations control; NMI and affiliates may underwrite; each underwriter responsible for own products, lines 358–368 and 391–394. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  4. Commercial Umbrella Liability Insurance from Nationwide. Nationwide; How commercial umbrella works; underlying policies and additional-liability layer. Accessed 2026-09-30.

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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