Cowbell vs 
Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Cowbell distributes a Zurich EPL module for smaller private companies; Gallagher advises EPL limits with class-action and wage-and-hour databases.
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. 1,2,3
What Is Gallagher?
Gallagher is a business-insurance broker and risk-management consultancy. Its technology practice serves startups through global enterprises, alongside a separate small-business offering for IT professionals and an executive-risk practice covering D&O and transaction-related coverages. Woodruff Sawyer is now part of Gallagher. 5,6,7,8,9
What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?
Employment practices liability insurance addresses claims alleging workplace wrongdoing, such as discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination. 10
Key Differences in Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Underwriter Versus Broker
Cowbell distributes Zurich Select Plus; Zurich underwrites the EPL module, which Cowbell and Zurich say is written on Zurich admitted paper. Gallagher’s Executive and Financial Risk practice places EPL with outside carriers and advises on limits and program design; it does not underwrite. 4 3 7
The Cowbell module is accessed only by appointed Zurich E&S wholesalers through Cowbell’s API. Gallagher’s reviewed materials do not describe that wholesale-API path. 4 7
How Size Enters the Picture
Cowbell targets private companies under 250 employees and under $50 million in assets. Gallagher says its EPL exposure modeling accounts for employee count, employee type and mix, and location of operations, reflecting that EPL claim size correlates with organization size and diversity. Gallagher’s reviewed materials do not publish Cowbell’s 250-employee / $50 million screen. 4 7
Coverage Descriptions
Cowbell describes EPL as covering discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment and other employment-related issues. Zurich names the module “Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability.” Gallagher describes EPL as responding to claims such as sexual harassment and wrongful termination, protecting against both class actions and single-plaintiff claims. 4 3 7
Risk-Advisory Services
Gallagher says it uses client data and predictive models, plus benchmarking and contract analysis, to guide EPL limits advice, and maintains EPL and wage-and-hour loss databases, including historical losses exceeding $1 million from a database it says it began in 1997. Cowbell’s reviewed FAQs do not describe comparable EPL loss databases for this module. Neither side publishes EPL limit figures. 7 4
What to Confirm in Employment Practices Liability Insurance Quotes
- Ask Gallagher which carriers it would approach, versus Zurich admitted paper on Select Plus. 7 3
- Confirm Select Plus eligibility if you exceed 250 employees or $50 million in assets. Gallagher’s modeling is not described as using those cutoffs. 4 7
- Ask how Gallagher would treat class-action and single-plaintiff claims on the placed form. Cowbell’s FAQ does not use that split. 7 4
- Get actual limits and the named insurer from both quotes. 4 7
Offering Details
Cowbell vs Gallagher Employment Practices Liability Insurance: documented features by provider
| Criteria | Cowbell / Zurich Select Plus Employment Practices Liability | Gallagher Employment Practices Liability (EPL) Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Role in This Line | Employment practices liability (EPL) is one module within Cowbell's distribution of Zurich's Select Plus management liability product; Cowbell operates the platform, Zurich underwrites. Zurich's own page names this module 'Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability,' broader than the plain 'EPL' shorthand Cowbell's FAQ uses. 4,3Company-reported. Management liability page intro and module list; Zurich page module-name section. | Gallagher's Executive and Financial Risk practice places EPL insurance with outside carriers and advises on limits and program design; it does not underwrite the policy. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Issuing Insurer | Cowbell and Zurich both say the Select Plus modules, including EPL, are written on Zurich admitted paper. Zurich's site footer names 'Zurich American Insurance Company' in its copyright notice, but neither page states that entity is the specific policy issuer for this EPL module. 4,3Company-reported. Management liability page intro; Zurich page intro and footer. | The executive-and-financial-risk page does not name the insurer that would issue a given client's EPL policy. 7Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Who It’s For | Cowbell targets this EPL module at private companies with under 250 employees and under $50M in assets, across industries such as retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. 4Company-reported. FAQ 'What size accounts are targeted?' and Target industries list. | Gallagher says its EPL exposure modeling accounts for an organization's employee count, employee type and mix, and location of operations, reflecting that EPL claim size correlates with organization size and diversity. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Coverage Features | Cowbell describes EPL as covering claims related to employment practices, including discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and other employment-related issues. 4Company-reported. FAQ 'What is the difference between management liability and D&O?'. Cowbell says EPL claims are the most common type of management liability claim overall, most frequently alleging discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, or retaliation for a legally protected activity such as filing a complaint or whistleblowing. 4Company-reported. FAQ 'What is the most common management liability claim?'. | Gallagher describes EPL coverage as responding to claims such as sexual harassment and wrongful termination, protecting against both class actions and single-plaintiff claims. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; a service description, not a specific policy's insuring agreement or exclusions. |
| Limits and Retentions | Neither the Cowbell page nor Zurich's own Select Plus page, both read in full, publishes EPL limit or retention amounts. 4,3Not publicly disclosed. Cowbell page and Zurich page, both read on 2026-09-23. | The page does not publish specific EPL limits or premium ranges; it describes only the benchmarking process used to recommend limits. 7Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page. |
| Risk Services | Not described in the reviewed sources. | Gallagher says it uses client data and predictive models, plus benchmarking and contract analysis, to guide EPL limits advice, and maintains its own EPL and Wage and Hour loss databases, including a review of historical losses exceeding $1 million drawn from a database it says it began building in 1997. 7Company-reported. Group-level executive-and-financial-risk practice page; Gallagher's own analytical tools, not independently audited. |
| How to Apply | This EPL module is accessed only by appointed Zurich E&S wholesalers through the Cowbell platform's API; it is not sold directly to businesses. 4Company-reported. FAQ 'How can I access the Zurich Select Plus management liability product through Cowbell?'. | Not described in the reviewed sources. |
Full Comparison
More Cowbell vs Gallagher Comparisons
Other Employment Practices Liability Insurance Comparisons
Sources
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 Select Plus. Zurich North America; Intro on the Zurich/Cowbell collaboration; module name 'Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability'; FAQ 'What is the difference between management liability and D&O?' and 'What is the most common management liability claim?' (identical to Cowbell's page); Targeted industries list; footer copyright. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Management liability coverage for small & medium enterprises. Cowbell; FAQ 'What is the difference between management liability and D&O?' (EPL definition); FAQ 'What is the most common management liability claim?' (EPL claim types); Target industries list. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Gallagher
- 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.
- 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.
- Executive and Financial Risk Insurance. Gallagher; Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance section. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Legal Information. Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher. Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance Guide
- Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Insurance Information Institute; Opening; What EPLI covers; Steps to limit employment liability risk. Accessed 2026-09-16.
