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

CNA lists four form enhancements. Gallagher places umbrella and excess through outside carriers and describes stakeholder meetings, policy-gap review, and claims and loss-control advocacy. 4,10

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. 1,2,3

Read the CNA profile

Read the CNA Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance page

What Is Gallagher?

Gallagher’s technology specialists serve startups through global enterprises, while its executive-risk team supports IPO and M&A needs; small firms seeking one simple digital quote should compare online agencies. 5,6,7,8,9

Read the Gallagher profile

Read the Gallagher 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. 11,12,13,14,15

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance

Form Features and Program Review

CNA identifies four built-in enhancements in its umbrella form: key-employee replacement, crisis management, waiver of subrogation and most-favorable venue. Gallagher’s casualty practice instead describes pre-renewal meetings, a gap analysis and contract/form review across a broader casualty program that includes umbrella and excess. That service can help a buyer map interactions among policies, while CNA’s feature list points to wording to inspect in the proposed form. 4 10

Who Places and Supports the Risk

Gallagher says it places coverage with outside carriers and offers a dedicated claims and loss-control advocacy group. CNA describes its own umbrella underwriting and flexible underwriting. If you want a broker to coordinate multiple casualty lines, Gallagher’s stated process is relevant; if you are evaluating CNA’s form directly, confirm how its underwriting and claims contacts interact with your existing program. 10 4

What to Confirm in Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Quotes

  • Ask Gallagher which carrier, limits and attachment terms it proposes and what the advocacy scope includes. 10
  • Ask CNA for wording and any sublimits attached to its four enhancements. 4
  • Request a side-by-side gap review against the same underlying casualty forms. 10 4

CNA and Gallagher 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.

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

Gallagher Review Score

9.3/ 10

Review Score

3 rated sources

Gallagher has strong Trustpilot feedback and a favorable historical large-commercial survey result. Neither directly measures today’s US small-business service.[2][4][6]

Read Gallagher reviews

CNA vs Gallagher Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Compared

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

CriteriaCNA Commercial Umbrella and Excess LiabilityGallagher Umbrella/Excess Liability Insurance
Role in This Line

Confirm in your quote.

Gallagher's Casualty practice places umbrella and excess liability coverage with outside carriers as one line within a broader casualty program; it does not underwrite the policy. 10Company-reported. Group-level casualty practice page.

Issuing Insurer

Confirm in your quote.

The casualty practice page does not name the insurer that would issue a given client's umbrella or excess policy. 10Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level casualty practice page.

Who It’s For

Confirm in your quote.

The casualty practice page does not name a target industry, size or minimum premium for umbrella/excess placements; it describes the practice generally as serving clients with a broader casualty program. 10Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level casualty practice page on 2026-09-23.

Coverage Features

CNA says its umbrella forms are designed to align with most underlying terms and conditions. 4Company-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. 4Company-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.

Gallagher groups umbrella/excess liability with automobile liability, workers' compensation and general/product liability under its casualty practice, offering "customized excess casualty program design and placement" and non-traditional alternative risk programs, but does not describe specific attachment points, exclusions or triggers. 10Company-reported. Group-level casualty practice page; a service description, not a specific policy's insuring agreement.

Limits and Retentions

Confirm in your quote.

The casualty practice page does not publish specific umbrella/excess limits, attachment points or premium ranges; it says program structure, coverage, limits and pricing are designed to fit the client's current and future needs. 10Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level casualty practice page.

Risk Services

CNA says its commercial umbrella/excess underwriting draws on more than 50 years of experience and offers flexible underwriting. 4Company-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.

Gallagher describes pre-renewal meetings with a client's finance, HR, operations and risk-management stakeholders, a gap analysis and contract/form review to close coverage gaps between policies, and a dedicated claims and loss-control advocacy group that reviews legacy loss information to build claim-mitigation and loss-prevention programs. 10Company-reported. Group-level casualty practice page; described at the practice level across all casualty lines, not exclusively for umbrella/excess.

Related Pages for CNA vs Gallagher Umbrella and Excess Liability

Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Pages for CNA and Gallagher

Other Coverage Lines Compared for CNA vs Gallagher

Other Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Provider Comparisons

Sources for CNA vs Gallagher Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance

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 About Gallagher

  1. Technology Insurance. Gallagher; Introduction; Solutions and coverages for the technology industry: Technology errors and omissions including cyber, Intellectual property insurance, Product liability, Employee benefits; Data-driven insights; global network. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses. Gallagher Small Business; Protection for IT Professionals & Their Technology-Based Businesses; recommended coverage menu, including Surety Bond Programs; Connect With An Advisor. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Executive and Financial Risk Insurance. Gallagher; Opening (insurance broking and placement); three key services; Directors and Officers; IPO and direct listings; Employment Practices; Fiduciary; Employee Dishonesty (Crime) and Fidelity Bond; Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion; M&A Transactional Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Legal Information. Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  5. Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher. Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  6. Casualty Insurance. Gallagher; Holistic approach for better insurance and risk management in casualty: Automobile Liability, Workers Compensation, General/Product Liability, Umbrella/Excess Liability and alternative forms of risk transfer; Robust casualty risk analysis process; Casualty Practice Summary. Accessed 2026-09-23.

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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