CFC vs
Cowbell Cyber Insurance
CFC doesn't name an insurer for its Cyber Proactive Response line; Cowbell names Palomar or Chaucer depending on which Prime product is placed.
What Is CFC Insurance?
CFC provides specialty insurance through an MGA model, with technology products for startups through multinational businesses. Its U.S. technology materials describe combined liability and cyber protection, while California eligibility requires product-specific confirmation. 1,2,3,4
What Is Cowbell Insurance?
Cowbell is a specialty-insurance platform and agency focused on cyber risk for small and midsize businesses. Its U.S. catalogue also includes combined Technology E&O and cyber products and a Zurich management-liability offering distributed through appointed wholesalers. 9,10,11
What Is Cyber Insurance?
Cyber insurance can help a business respond to cyber incidents and address covered liability claims arising from them. 17
Key Differences in Cyber Insurance
Naming the Insurer Behind the Policy
CFC's US application form names only CFC Underwriting Limited as the entity administering it, and neither the cyber product page nor the application discloses which insurer or Lloyd's syndicate sits behind a given policy. 8 4 Cowbell instead names a specific carrier per product: Palomar Specialty Insurance Company for Prime 100 and Prime 100 Pro, and Chaucer Insurance Company as an additional Prime 250 carrier.
Cowbell says Prime 100 and Prime 100 Pro paper is provided by Palomar Specialty Insurance Company (AM Best A rating), Prime 250 by Palomar Specialty Insurance Company and Chaucer Insurance Company, and Prime One by Chaucer Specialty Insurance Company; the insurer therefore varies by which Prime product is placed. 12,14,15Company-reported. Footer/underwriting statements in each product PDF.
How Each Company Segments Its Product Line
CFC splits cyber by revenue into Cyber Proactive Response and Cyber (admitted) for businesses up to $250 million and Corporate cyber above that. 5 Cowbell segments further by naming five distinct Prime products — Prime 100, Prime 100 Pro, Prime 250, Prime One and Prime Plus — each with its own eligibility band from SMEs up to $1 billion in revenue and beyond. 12 15
Services Included With the Policy
Both bundle non-claim services into the policy: CFC includes its CFC Response incident-response team and a free monitoring app, while Cowbell bundles Cowbell Factors risk ratings, Cowbell Resiliency Services and complimentary Wizer security-awareness training. 6 12
What to Confirm in Cyber Insurance Quotes
- Ask Cowbell which Prime product you're being quoted, since the underwriting insurer changes between Palomar and Chaucer depending on the product. 14
- Ask CFC to identify the specific insurer or syndicate on your policy, since its public materials do not name one. 8
- Compare published limits: Cowbell states Prime One offers limits up to $10 million for select risks, while CFC publishes a maximum line size only for its $250 million-plus Corporate cyber tier. 15 5
- Confirm which bundled services survive into the bound policy versus marketing materials for both companies. 7 12
Offering Details
CFC vs Cowbell Cyber Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | CFC Cyber Proactive Response | Cowbell Prime Cyber Insurance (Prime 100, Prime 100 Pro, Prime 250, Prime One, Prime Plus) |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | CFC's flagship cyber product, Cyber Proactive Response, targets businesses with revenues from $0 to $250 million and pairs the policy with built-in security monitoring, incident response and claims handling rather than selling those as add-ons. 5Company-reported. Cyber insurance product page's Cyber Proactive Response summary; CFC separately sells Cyber (admitted), Corporate cyber for businesses at $250 million and up, and a Cyber excess policy. | Cowbell operates as an insurance agency that markets its own named 'Prime' cyber product line, rather than distributing another carrier's off-the-shelf policy under its own brand. 12,14,15Company-reported. Product overview PDFs for Prime 100, Prime 100 Pro, Prime 250, Prime One and Prime Plus. |
| Issuing Insurer | The Cyber Proactive Response application form names only CFC Underwriting Limited, an entity authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, as the party administering the form. Neither the cyber product page nor the application discloses which specific insurer or Lloyd's syndicate capacity sits behind a US Cyber Proactive Response policy. 8,4Not publicly disclosed. Application footer and the regulatory information page, both checked on 2026-09-23; CFC also operates Lloyd's Syndicate 1988 and CFC USA Inc.'s admitted and E&S licenses, but no page ties one of these specifically to Cyber Proactive Response. | Cowbell says Prime 100 and Prime 100 Pro paper is provided by Palomar Specialty Insurance Company (AM Best A rating), Prime 250 by Palomar Specialty Insurance Company and Chaucer Insurance Company, and Prime One by Chaucer Specialty Insurance Company; the insurer therefore varies by which Prime product is placed. 12,14,15Company-reported. Footer/underwriting statements in each product PDF. |
| Who It’s For | CFC segments cyber eligibility by revenue: Cyber Proactive Response and Cyber (admitted) are positioned for businesses with revenues from $0 to $250 million, while Corporate cyber is for businesses at $250 million and above. 5Company-reported. Cyber product page product summaries; actual eligibility for a given applicant depends on underwriting. | Cowbell markets Prime 100 (admitted) to SMEs with up to $100M in revenue, Prime 100 Pro (admitted, available in 47 states) to a similar SME band with broader endorsements, Prime 250 (non-admitted) to businesses up to $1B in revenue, and Prime One (non-admitted) to organizations with more advanced digital exposure, typically $250M+ in annual revenue. 12,13,14,15Company-reported. Risk Appetite sections of each PDF. |
| Coverage Features | Cyber Proactive Response includes crime cover, a 12-month indemnity period for business interruption, and data recreation cover, with unlimited claim reinstatements available at either no deductible or a single deductible at most. 5Company-reported. Cyber product page Key features list for Cyber Proactive Response. | Base Prime 100 coverages include security breach liability, social engineering, hardware replacement, business income and extra expense, extortion threats, computer and funds transfer fraud, and restoration of electronic data; Prime One adds affirmative AI-incident and quantum-computing-incident coverage for more advanced digital exposures. 12,15Company-reported. Prime 100 Coverages and Prime One 'Emerging risk coverage' sections; illustrative, subject to the issued policy's terms. |
| Limits and Retentions | For larger businesses, CFC's Corporate cyber product (for revenues of $250 million or more) has a published maximum line size of $25 million; the Cyber Proactive Response and Cyber (admitted) pages for smaller businesses do not publish a maximum dollar limit. 5Company-reported. Cyber product page Corporate cyber Key features; limit for any individual policy appears on its declarations. | Cowbell states Prime 100 Pro adds endorsements with limits up to $3M, Prime One offers limits up to $10M for select risks, and Prime Plus is an excess layer offering up to $5M above a primary cyber policy; base Prime 100 and Prime 250 limit figures are not published in the reviewed PDFs. 13,15,16Company-reported. Product overview PDFs; actual issued limits depend on underwriting. |
| Risk Services | Every CFC cyber policyholder gets CFC Response, described as an in-house incident-response service available 24/7, plus a free mobile app offering dark web monitoring, phishing simulations and external network deep scanning. 6,7Company-reported. Response page and cyber brochure; CFC characterizes its incident response team as one of the largest in-house teams in the industry, a claim not independently verified here. | Cowbell says every Prime policy includes Cowbell Factors risk ratings, Cowbell Resiliency Services, Cowbell Insights guidance, Cowbell Connectors integrations with cloud/security providers, and complimentary Wizer cybersecurity-awareness training with unlimited seats in the first policy year. 12,14Company-reported. 'The Cowbell Advantage' section, repeated across the reviewed product PDFs. |
| How to Apply | The US Cyber Proactive Response application is a one-page form asking whether multi-factor authentication is enforced for remote network access and email, whether backups are offline or MFA-secured, and whether the business had a cyber incident in the last three years. 8Company-reported. Cyber Proactive Response application form sections on cyber security controls and previous cyber incidents. | Cowbell says agents can quote, bind and issue Prime 100 policies in less than five minutes, and that Prime 100 Pro requires only six underwriting questions for accounts under $50M in revenue; Prime products are distributed through appointed agents rather than direct to consumers. 12,13Company-reported. Prime 100 and Prime 100 Pro overview PDFs; speed figures are company-reported, not independently timed. |
| Claims Support | CFC says its in-house cyber claims team resolves several thousand cyber claims a year and reports a 99.4% cyber claims acceptance rate over a recent 12-month period. 7Company-reported. Cyber brochure claims statistics; these are company-reported figures and were not independently audited. | Cowbell says its in-house cyber claims team has over 80 years of combined claims-handling experience and provides 24/7 in-house claims support from initial triage through resolution. 15,12Company-reported. Prime One 'When an incident occurs' section and 'Expert Claims Support' feature repeated across the product PDFs. |
Full Comparison
More CFC vs Cowbell Comparisons
Other Cyber Insurance Comparisons
Sources
CFC
- About CFC. CFC; Matt Taylor biography: independent MGA and Syndicate 1988. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology. CFC; Introduction; Technology key features; Digitally traded. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Technology — United States product brochure. CFC; Page 1: coverage sections, including Products and services liability; Response app highlights; Limits and deductibles. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Regulatory information. CFC; CFC Underwriting Limited; CFC Lloyd's Syndicate 1988; CFC USA Inc. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Cyber insurance | CFC. CFC; Cyber Proactive Response, Cyber (admitted), Corporate cyber, Cyber excess product summaries and Key features; FAQs: How is a cyber insurance policy structured? Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Incident response | CFC. CFC; Proactive protection; Immediate response; Real-time support. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Protecting businesses against cyber risk (cyber product brochure). CFC; Market-leading cover highlights: separate limit for incident response costs, unlimited reinstatements with nil deductible, full business interruption cover; Award-winning cyber claims team stats. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Cyber Proactive Response Insurance application form (US). CFC; Basic company details; Cyber security controls; Previous cyber incidents; footer entity line. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Cowbell
- Cowbell. Cowbell; What We Do; Assess, Insure, Respond and Improve; U.S. navigation; footer legal disclosure. Accessed 2026-09-15.
- 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.
- Small And Midsize Business Management Liability. Zurich North America; Zurich Select Plus collaboration; admitted paper and Zurich Claims; modular suite: D&O, Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability, Fiduciary Liability and Crime modules; access for appointed Zurich E&S wholesalers; target under 250 employees and $50 million assets; access and target-account FAQs. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Prime 100 Product Overview. Cowbell; Product Overview; Risk Appetite; The Cowbell Advantage; Prime 100 Coverages; 'Paper provided by Palomar Specialty Insurance Company' footer. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Prime 100 Pro Product Overview. Cowbell; Product Overview; Expanded coverage options; Streamlined process for agents; Confidence that resonates; Available In 47 U.S. States list. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Prime 250 Product Overview. Cowbell; Product Overview; Confidence at scale; Available in 50 states and D.C. on surplus papers; Prime 250 Coverages. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Prime One Product Overview. Cowbell; Risk appetite: organizations with more advanced digital exposures, typically $250M+ in annual revenue; core and additional coverage elements; 'written on a non-admitted basis by Chaucer Specialty Insurance Company' footer. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Prime Plus Product Overview. Cowbell; Product Overview; Why Prime Plus; 'offered on a non-admitted basis with paper provided by AM Best A (Excellent) rated carriers' footer. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Cyber Insurance Guide
- Cyber Insurance. Federal Trade Commission; Opening; First-Party and Third-Party Coverage; First-Party Coverage; Third-Party Coverage; What Should Your Cyber Insurance Policy Cover. Accessed 2026-09-16.






