Cowbell vs HUB International Management Liability Insurance

Cowbell is the distribution platform, not the insurer: it gives Zurich-appointed E&S wholesalers API access to Zurich's Select Plus management liability product, a modular suite Zurich already sells to larger companies, sized down for small and midsize private businesses. Zurich's own page confirms Select Plus is 'Zurich Insurance, in collaboration with Cowbell,' offered as a 'proprietary form,' with identical FAQ wording to Cowbell's page. ^4,3Company-reported. Cowbell intro paragraph and FAQ; Zurich intro and 'Delivering speed from quoting to policy issuance' section.

HUB brokers management liability coverage through its ProEx Professional & Executive Risk practice, packaging lines such as D&O, employment practices liability and fiduciary liability under an Executive Liability umbrella rather than underwriting any of them itself. ⁸Company-reported. ProEx page coverage list, read 2026-09-23; the page does not name an issuing insurer for any listed line.

Both Cowbell and Zurich say the product is offered on Zurich admitted paper and backed by 'the reputable Zurich Claims service.' Neither page names the specific underwriting Zurich subsidiary or policy-issuing entity; Zurich's site footer copyright reads 'Zurich American Insurance Company,' but that is a general site-wide notice, not a stated policy-issuer confirmation for Select Plus specifically. ^4,3Company-reported. Management liability page intro; Zurich page intro and footer.

HUB says ProEx places more than $2 billion in premium, which it says improves carrier negotiations, but does not name the insurers that issue management liability policies through the practice. ⁸Company-reported. ProEx page market-leverage statement; the carrier for a specific placement depends on the quote.

Cowbell says the product targets SME private companies with under 250 employees and under $50M in assets, and lists target industries including specialty chemicals, technology, energy/utilities, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, retail, and integrated freight & logistics. ⁴Company-reported. FAQ 'What size accounts are targeted?' and 'Target industries' list.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Zurich's own page names the four Select Plus modules as 'Private Management and Company Liability,' 'Employment Practices and Third-Party Discrimination Liability,' 'Fiduciary Liability,' and 'Crime Insurance' -- broader labels than the plain 'D&O' and 'EPL' shorthand Cowbell's FAQ uses -- and says a buyer can combine up to four of these modules into one policy. ³Company-reported. Zurich page 'Protect your small to midsize business with Zurich's Select Plus Management Liability solutions' section.

Cowbell describes management liability as a modular umbrella covering four lines within the Select Plus product: private company D&O, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, and crime, each addressing a different category of management or employee risk. ⁴Company-reported. FAQ 'What is the difference between management liability and D&O?'.

HUB's ProEx Executive Liability coverages include directors and officers liability (D&O), side-A-only excess D&O, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, employed lawyers errors and omissions, crime and fidelity coverage, kidnap, ransom and extortion insurance, and workplace violence coverage. ⁸Company-reported. ProEx page coverage list; the page describes the practice's catalogue, not the insuring agreements or exclusions of any one issued policy.

HUB's technology-industry page separately groups crime, D&O, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability and transactional or warranty insurance under "Management Liability" as coverages it arranges for technology clients, largely overlapping with the ProEx Executive Liability list. ⁷Company-reported. Technology-industry page People Protection and Management Liability lists; a marketing grouping, not a single bundled policy.

Neither the Cowbell page nor Zurich's own Select Plus page publishes limit or retention amounts for the modules; both were read in full and neither discloses a figure. ^4,3Not publicly disclosed. Cowbell page and Zurich page, both read on 2026-09-23.

Published management liability policy limits or retentions were not found on the reviewed pages. ^8,7Not publicly disclosed. Checked the ProEx page and technology-industry page on 2026-09-23; limits are set on the quote and declarations.

Cowbell says the product is backed by Zurich's claims service, and frames the offering's advantage as faster quoting and issuance through Cowbell's technology platform compared with Zurich's standard process, rather than describing separate risk-control services. ⁴Company-reported. Page intro and FAQ 'What makes the Zurich Select Plus offering through Cowbell unique?'.

HUB says ProEx provides an inclusive service model with analytics, litigation support and risk management across client sizes, a "boundaryless" account team of local, national and international specialists, and D&O modeling that incorporates ESG risk analysis alongside white papers, webinars and events on emerging exposures. ⁸Company-reported. ProEx page service-model and analytics sections.

Access is limited to appointed wholesalers of Zurich Excess & Surplus (E&S): a wholesaler already appointed by Zurich E&S can reach the product through the Cowbell platform via API, and is directed to contact a Cowbell or Zurich representative to set that up. The product 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.

Cowbell says the most common management liability claims fall under employment practices liability, citing discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and retaliation as the most frequent claim types. ⁴Company-reported. FAQ 'What is the most common management liability claim?'; describes claim frequency, not Cowbell's own claims-handling process.

HUB describes a Claims & Legal Risks Group of attorneys who specialize in ProEx coverages, handling policy-wording review and claim recovery for management liability claims. ⁸Company-reported. ProEx page claims and legal support section.