Cowbell vs The Hartford: How Do They Compare for Tech E&O Insurance?

Cost near $500 to $1,000 per employee a year is The Hartford's figure for its FailSafe tech E&O, which adds security, privacy, IP and media liability. Cowbell Prime Tech blends tech E&O with cyber, limits up to $5M, via agents.

Cowbell’s Prime Tech puts tech E&O and cyber on one policy with published limits up to $5 million and no exclusions for guarantees, warranties or consequential damages. The Hartford’s FailSafe adds IP, media and personal-injury liability but sells full cyber as a separate policy. ^1,^2,³

What Are the Key Differences Between Cowbell and The Hartford Tech E&O Insurance?

One Policy for E&O and Cyber vs Two Hartford Policies

Cowbell’s Prime Tech combines tech E&O with cyber in one policy for tech businesses up to $1 billion in revenue, including SaaS, IT consultants and hardware resellers, sold through agents with limits up to $5 million. The Hartford underwrites FailSafe for companies whose products or services can cause a customer financial loss, and sells cyber liability for attacks and data leaks separately. Choose Cowbell if you want one policy covering both a service failure and a breach; choose The Hartford if you are a software, IT, hardware or telecom firm that wants a per-employee price guide from a large insurer. ¹ ³

Contract-Friendly Wording vs IP and Media Features

Cowbell lists delay in delivery, negligence, misrepresentation, breach of warranty or contract, product failures, software copyright disputes, duty to defend, privacy regulatory defense and contractual indemnity, with no exclusions for guarantees, consequential damages or breach of warranties. The Hartford lists E&O, security, data privacy and network security, personal injury, IP and media liability. If customer contracts are your main exposure, Cowbell’s wording is more explicit; if you publish content, FailSafe names media cover. ¹ ³

Published Limits vs Published Price Range

Cowbell publishes limits up to $5 million but no pricing. The Hartford says tech E&O typically costs about $500 to $1,000 per employee a year but publishes no standard limits. ¹ ³

What Should You Confirm in Cowbell and The Hartford Tech E&O Insurance Quotes?

Ask The Hartford what adding its separate cyber policy costs, so you compare like with like. ¹ ³
Ask Cowbell whether media and personal-injury claims are covered. ³ ¹
Ask Cowbell which insurer issues Prime Tech. It is written outside the standard state-regulated market, so state guaranty-fund protection generally does not apply. Get actual limits from The Hartford. ¹ ³

Cowbell vs The Hartford Tech E&O Insurance Compared

Cowbell vs The Hartford: Tech E&O Insurance: documented features by provider

Criteria	Cowbell Prime Tech / Prime Tech Plus	The Hartford FailSafe Technology Errors and Omissions Insurance
Limits and Retentions	Cowbell states Prime Tech offers limits up to $5M, and Prime Tech Plus (the excess layer) also offers limits up to $5M above the underlying primary policy. ^1,²Company-reported. Product overview PDFs.	The Hartford says E&O coverage for technology businesses typically costs about $500 to $1,000 per year per employee; the page does not publish standard coverage limits, which depend on location, employee count, coverage limits chosen and lawsuit history. ³Company-reported. Company-reported cost range as of 2026-09-23 (page last updated by The Hartford September 19, 2024); not a coverage limit.
Who It’s For	Cowbell targets Prime Tech and Prime Tech Plus at technology businesses with up to $1B in revenue, listing example segments such as SaaS/app service providers, IT consultants, data analytics, hardware resellers, and web design or web services firms. ^1,²Company-reported. Risk Appetite sections of both PDFs.	The Hartford names buyer types for Tech E&O: software and IT specialists (custom/packaged software developers, website designers, computer consultants, systems integrators, federal IT contractors), hardware and electronics manufacturers, and telecommunications providers (local/long-distance carriers, internet/application service providers, website hosting). ³Company-reported. Technology E&O product page as read 2026-09-23.
Coverage Features	Cowbell lists Prime Tech coverage for delay in delivery, negligence, misrepresentation, breach of warranty/contract, product failures, and software copyright disputes, plus associated cyber-related costs like cyber extortion, data restoration, social engineering, and business interruption. ¹Company-reported. Prime Tech FAQ, 'What coverage is offered?' and 'other associated costs' lists. Cowbell says Prime Tech includes duty to defend, defense costs for privacy-related regulatory proceedings, contractual-indemnity coverage, expansive breach-of-contract coverage, broad intellectual-property infringement coverage, and no exclusions for guarantees, consequential damages, or breach of warranties. ¹Company-reported. 'Prime Tech Coverage Benefits' list; illustrative, subject to the issued policy.	The Hartford lists FailSafe Technology E&O coverage features: errors and omissions liability, security liability, data privacy and network security liability, personal injury liability, intellectual property liability, and media liability. It distinguishes this from its separate cyber liability coverage, which addresses cyberattacks and data leaks specifically rather than broader product/service failures. ³Company-reported. Technology E&O product page as read 2026-09-23. General coverage description; the issued policy controls.
Role in This Line	Cowbell markets Prime Tech as a non-admitted professional-indemnity product that combines Technology Errors & Omissions (E&O) with cyber coverage in one policy, and Prime Tech Plus as a follow-form excess layer that sits above a primary Tech E&O/cyber policy. ^1,²Company-reported. Prime Tech and Prime Tech Plus overview PDFs.	The Hartford's FailSafe Technology Liability Product Suite is its technology errors and omissions (E&O) product, aimed at technology companies whose products or services can cause a customer's pure financial loss that traditional liability policies usually don't cover. ³Company-reported. Technology E&O product page as read 2026-09-23.