Cowbell vs Lockton

Cowbell is a specialty-insurance platform and agency, not the insurer named on every policy. Cowbell Insurance Agency LLC says it is a U.S. property-and-casualty producer and may act as a general agent for one or more carriers; the issuing insurer remains responsible for the policy. ^1,5,2

Cowbell identifies Zurich as a $60 million Series C investor and partner, while Zurich describes Cowbell as its technology collaborator for Select Plus. The reviewed sources do not describe Cowbell as a Zurich subsidiary or say that Zurich underwrites every Cowbell product. ^4,19,3

Lockton’s US site describes the firm as an independent insurance brokerage that arranges customized risk, employee benefits and retirement solutions. US Terms of Business treat Lockton Companies, LLC and affiliated Lockton companies as intermediaries that market, place and service insurance, not as the risk-bearing insurer on a placed policy. ^23,35,42

Public US terms name Lockton Companies, LLC (and Series, subsidiaries and affiliates) as the brokerage group and Lockton, Inc. as the website operator. Certificates produced by Lockton also use the California DBA Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC. Confirm the legal name on any broker-of-record or services agreement; these pages do not by themselves establish which entity would be appointed for a California company. ^35,36,43

Lockton-produced certificates print California license number 0F15767 for Lockton Companies, LLC DBA Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC. Current license status, classes and expiration remain independently unverified. Treat California producer authority as unresolved until a regulator record or the proposed engagement papers are checked. ^43,44

Cowbell's current U.S. cyber catalogue includes admitted Prime 100 and Prime 100 Pro, non-admitted Prime 250 and Prime One, and follow-form excess Prime Plus. These are separate programs with different revenue appetites, limits, coverage descriptions and jurisdictional bases—not interchangeable versions of one policy. ^{9,11,12,13,14,15}

Prime 100 Pro advertises limits up to $3 million; Prime One advertises up to $10 million for select risks and expressly describes AI-incident and quantum-computing coverage; Prime Plus advertises up to $5 million above a primary cyber policy. All remain subject to underwriting and issued policy terms. ^12,14,15

Prime Tech combines non-admitted Technology E&O with cyber coverage for eligible technology businesses up to $1 billion in revenue and advertises limits up to $5 million. Prime Tech Plus is a separate follow-form excess Technology E&O and cyber product with up to $5 million in excess limits. ^16,17

Cowbell's U.S. management-liability offering is Zurich Select Plus, a modular product with private-company D&O, employment-practices, fiduciary and crime coverage options. Zurich says appointed Zurich E&S wholesalers access the Cowbell-powered platform; the target is private businesses under 250 employees and under $50 million in assets. ^18,19

Cowbell's product overviews say their coverage examples are illustrative and do not amend a policy. Actual coverage, conditions, limits, exclusions, availability and underwriting approval come from the issued policy and can vary by state and product. ^{11,12,13,14,15,16,17}

For technology clients, Lockton highlights cyber liability and directors and officers liability, plus related services such as contract review and international program design. Dedicated US product pages describe brokerage for casualty lines (auto, cargo, general and product liability, umbrella and excess, workers’ compensation), commercial property, fiduciary liability for employee-benefit-plan fiduciaries, and People Solutions employee benefits. A private-equity capabilities list also names errors and omissions, crime and financial-institution bonds, employment practices liability, surety, key-person insurance, transaction insurance including representations and warranties, and portfolio-company programs. Actual policy wording, limits and whether a given buyer is offered those lines remain quote-dependent. ^{24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32}

A U.S. buyer works through an insurance agent or broker. Cowbell provides a state-filtered agent directory, while appointed agents use Cowbell's platform to quote, bind and issue eligible products; no direct-to-buyer quote path was documented in the reviewed sources. ^8,1,9,11

Public US application starts as an inquiry: the US contact form (Ask an Expert) and industry pages invite buyers to connect with a team. The privacy notice refers to soliciting an insurance policy quote. The Cyber & Technology page publishes cyber@lockton.com. Reviewed pages do not describe a self-serve bind flow, published quote turnaround, or an unauthenticated online application that issues a policy without a Lockton representative. ^{34,23,37,25,36}

Cowbell's materials name Palomar Specialty Insurance Company for Prime 100 and Prime 100 Pro, Palomar and Chaucer Specialty Insurance Company for Prime 250, and Chaucer for Prime One. Prime Plus and Prime Tech Plus name only A-rated carrier paper, while the Select Plus page says Zurich admitted paper without naming the issuing legal entity. ^{11,12,13,14,15,17,18,7}

Lockton says it is not obligated to use any particular insurer, is generally not authorized to bind insurers except in circumstances it says it will try to disclose, and does not guarantee placement on acceptable terms. Cyber pages refer to insurer partners without naming them. The workers’ compensation page claims access to more than 100 regional, global and program markets without listing those markets. Surplus-lines insurers may appear in a proposal when admitted markets cannot meet requested terms. Named issuing companies for a buyer’s policies were not disclosed on the reviewed pages. ^35,25,29

Cowbell says its in-house cyber claims team and incident-response panel are available around the clock. Its public intake instructions ask for the policy number or company name, the incident date and details, and a point of contact; coverage and claim payment still depend on the issuing insurer and policy. ^21,11,14

Lockton describes claims advocacy as a service, not as the insurer paying claims. Technology, D&O and fiduciary pages say a Professional & Executive Risk Claims team, including insurance and claims counsel, is integrated with the broking team and that claims advocacy is not treated as a profit center. Loss-prevention pages describe claims consulting: investigations, mapping facts to policies, preparing presentations, and discussions with insurer lawyers and loss adjusters. Workers’ compensation pages mention claims service advocates. Terms of Business include claims handling and claims processing among Lockton’s intermediary services and state Lockton is not responsible for an insurer’s solvency or willingness to pay. These descriptions do not establish claims outcomes or handling quality. ^{24,26,31,33,29,35}