Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Markel Insurance: How Do They Compare for Fiduciary Liability Insurance?

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance’s fiduciary policy page lists full settlor coverage, Affordable Care Act gap coverage, and fines and penalties. Markel describes fiduciary coverage for private companies, nonprofits, and employee-plan fiduciaries, with claims such as plan mismanagement and administrative errors subject to policy wording. 6,9

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. 1,2,3,4

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance profile

Read the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Fiduciary Liability Insurance page

Markel Insurance: Specialty Business and Products

Markel Insurance is Markel Group's specialty and small-business insurance business, with offerings across packages, workers' compensation, cyber, professional and management liability, property, marine, and surety. Products use different insurers and distribution routes, so compare the issuer and terms shown on the specific quote. 7,8

Read the Markel Insurance profile

What Is Fiduciary Liability Insurance?

Fiduciary liability can protect your company and plan fiduciaries when participants claim mishandling of an employee benefit plan. If you sponsor a retirement or health plan, check who is insured and whether both administration errors and fiduciary-breach claims are addressed. 10,11,12

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Fiduciary Liability Insurance

Policy Terms and Exposure

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance names particular policy features, while Markel’s public overview explains common claim situations without detailing grants, exclusions, limits, or retentions. A plan sponsor weighing these records should ask for the actual form and determine whether settlor decisions, penalties, and defense costs are covered under the quoted terms. 5 9

Placement and Buyer Fit

Markel invites customers or brokers to contact its underwriting team, and does not set a universal limit in its overview. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance targets large commercial and financial organizations with complex risk-transfer needs. Both require quote-level confirmation, but the Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance audience description is narrower and its limit allocation across Executive First must be made clear. 5 9

What to Confirm in Fiduciary Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Ask Markel for the issuing entity, fiduciary limit, retention, and exact grants for administration errors. Ask Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance how its settlor and ACA features apply and request the fiduciary-only limit and aggregate terms. 5 9

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.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

-/ 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

Markel Insurance

7.5/ 10

Review Score

2 rated sources

There is little public customer feedback on Markel. Trustpilot shows 2.5 out of 5 from just 5 reviews, and BBB lists 12 complaints closed in the last three years.[4][3]

Read Markel Insurance reviews

Offering Details

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Markel Insurance: Fiduciary Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaFiduciary Liability in Executive First Private Company PortfolioMarkel fiduciary liability
Role in This Line

BHSI lists fiduciary liability as a component of its Executive First Private Company Portfolio comprehensive form with D&O, EPL, Commercial Crime and employed-lawyer insurance. 5Company-reported. This is a marketed portfolio component; the source does not say every line is required or that limits are shared.

Markel lists fiduciary liability for private companies, nonprofits and individuals managing employee benefit plans. 9Company-reported. U.S. private/nonprofit product page; not a fidelity bond.

Who It’s For

The portfolio targets private companies with at least $10 million in revenue and names construction, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, service, technology and transportation sectors. 5Company-reported. These are portfolio target-account statements, not guaranteed fiduciary eligibility.

BHSI identifies large commercial and financial firms with complex risk-transfer needs as targets for this fiduciary policy. 6Company-reported. A target segment does not guarantee eligibility for an applicant or plan.

The page identifies private companies and not-for-profits and employee-plan fiduciaries as intended audiences; exact class and plan eligibility is not stated universally. 9Company-reported. Published audience description only.

Coverage Features

BHSI names fiduciary liability as one component of the Executive First Private Company Portfolio. 5Company-reported. The source does not describe the fiduciary insuring agreement, covered plans or insured parties.

BHSI’s Executive First Fiduciary Liability Policy page lists full settlor coverage, Affordable Care Act gap coverage, and coverage for fines and penalties; it says specialized defense counsel is recommended but not required. 6Company-reported. These are company-described product highlights. Applicable law, policy wording, conditions and exclusions govern a given plan or claim.

Markel describes claims involving benefit-plan mismanagement, administrative errors or breach of fiduciary duty, with potential defense costs, settlements and judgments subject to policy wording. 9Company-reported. Illustrative page description; policy terms control.

Limits and Retentions

BHSI advertises shared or separate limits up to $50 million for the portfolio. 5Company-reported. The source does not give a fiduciary-specific limit or explain allocation among components.

Confirm in your quote.

Full Comparison

More Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance vs Markel Insurance Comparisons

Other Fiduciary Liability Insurance Comparisons

Sources

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. Executive First Private Company Portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Product Highlights, lines 11–15: D&O, EPL, fiduciary, Commercial Crime and Employed Lawyers in one comprehensive form; shared or separate limits up to $50 million; EPL First HR resources and attorney helpline. Top Targets, lines 16–25: private companies with at least $10 million revenue and listed industries. Reopened 2026-09-30. Accessed 2026-09-30.
  6. Executive First Fiduciary Liability Policy. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Product Highlights: full settlor coverage, ACA gap coverage, recommended-not-mandatory specialized defense counsel, and fines/penalties; Top Targets: large commercial and financial firms (lines 6–20). Reopened 2026-09-30. Accessed 2026-09-30.

Markel Insurance

  1. About us. Markel; Markel at a glance; description of Markel Insurance within Markel Group Inc. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. Markel Group Inc. 2025 Form 10-K. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; filed by Markel Group Inc.; Cover page; Part I, Item 1 Business—Markel Insurance, U.S. Wholesale and Specialty, Programs and Solutions; Part II, Item 7/8 for group and segment risks. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Private and Nonprofit Management Liability Insurance. Markel; What we offer; private/nonprofit segment; D&O, EPL, fiduciary and optional coverage sections. Accessed 2026-09-29.

Fiduciary Liability Insurance Guide

  1. Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2008-04: Guidance Regarding ERISA Fidelity Bonding Requirements. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; Q2 pp.2–3. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Fiduciary Liability. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America; II.D,J–L pp.2–3; II.A p.1; II.V p.5; Header p.1; II.M p.3; I p.1; III.A.6–8 pp.5–6; II.M.2 p.3; III.B.1 p.6. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Fiduciary Liability Insurance. Travelers; What Is Fiduciary Liability Insurance? 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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