Hiscox vs Pie Insurance

Hiscox NOW appetite and About Hiscox US say admitted small-business products described there are underwritten by Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., a Chicago-based insurer licensed in all 50 states and D.C. The California Department of Insurance independently identifies that company as an Illinois-domiciled property-and-casualty insurer, NAIC 10200, California Company ID 1439-9, authorized in California since 14 September 1953 with unlimited-normal status. Hiscox’s California marketing page also cites Illinois license number 8754, which is not the CDI company ID; reconcile names and numbers on the quote. ^24,25,4,23,6

Hiscox refers small-business buyers to other insurers or marketplaces for several products: workers’ compensation is underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance; the commercial-auto page refers customers to GEICO and affiliates; medical malpractice is accessed through NOW Insurance, which Hiscox says is not affiliated with the Hiscox group; short-term liability is underwritten by Markel Insurance Company through Thimble. A separate other-insurance page instead partners with CyberPolicy for commercial auto, umbrella, directors and officers, and employment practices liability. The issuing company on a partner quote is therefore not assumed to be Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. ^{11,12,13,14,15}

Hiscox Inc. says it is an approved Lloyd’s coverholder and underwrites surplus-lines business on behalf of Lloyd’s Syndicates 33 and 3624, with U.S. surplus-lines placements made by licensed surplus-lines brokers. Terms also say Hiscox Inc. may place admitted and surplus-lines business with Hiscox Insurance Company Inc., other domestic insurers, and Lloyd’s syndicates. That surplus-lines route is described as distinct from the online small-business catalogue. ^4,5

Pie says workers’ compensation is underwritten by The Pie Insurance Company (NAIC 21857) and affiliates. AM Best says Pie began writing all of that business through The Pie Insurance Company and Pie Casualty Insurance Company (NAIC 10997) on January 1, 2024. ^32,49,50,51

AM Best affirmed Pie Casualty Insurance Company’s pooled A- (Excellent) financial strength rating with a Stable outlook, effective April 24, 2026. A rating is an opinion of insurer financial strength, not a guarantee that a claim is covered or paid. ⁴⁹

Pie says business owner’s, general liability and professional liability policies are underwritten by unaffiliated third-party insurers, and its cyber page refers to carrier partners. The reviewed public pages do not name the currently participating insurers for these products. ^{32,34,35,36,37}

Hiscox directly markets and offers online quotes for general liability, professional liability (errors and omissions), cyber security insurance and a business owner’s policy that combines general liability with commercial property. IT pages present those same lines for technology consultants rather than a separately named technology E&O policy. Website examples and coverage lists are illustrative; the issued policy controls. ^{16,7,8,9,10,2}

Hired/non-owned auto and commercial crime are described as upgrades to a Hiscox business owner’s policy, not standalone Hiscox policies. Crime is not sold separately and is not available in all states. HNOA is tied to the BOP occurrence limit and does not replace commercial auto for vehicles the business owns or regularly operates. ^20,21,10

Hiscox also markets partner coverage for workers’ compensation (Hartford Fire, generally requiring a Hiscox general-liability policy), commercial auto (GEICO referral and, separately, CyberPolicy), medical malpractice (NOW Insurance), short-term liability (Thimble/Markel), and CyberPolicy quotes for umbrella, directors and officers, and employment practices liability. Those pages are partner access paths, not proof that Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. issues the policy. ^{11,12,13,14,15,26}

Current direct offering pages support workers’ compensation, business owner’s policy, cyber, general liability and professional liability/E&O. The non-workers’ compensation pages describe typical protection; the issued policy and endorsements determine actual coverage. ^{30,34,35,37,36,31}

Pie says it stopped accepting commercial-auto submissions on December 1, 2025 and will issue no new or renewal commercial-auto policies on or after January 1, 2026. Existing policyholders retain coverage through their policy term and can still use Pie’s claim channels. ^41,47

Pie’s terms say website coverage descriptions are not part of an insurance contract and do not change a policy or endorsement; eligibility and product availability can vary by geography and applicant. ³¹

Hiscox says it is currently licensed to offer small-business insurance in 49 states and the District of Columbia, and that coverage is currently unavailable in Alaska. General liability and professional liability FAQs repeat the Alaska exclusion and say specialist brokers may be able to help if Hiscox does not sell online in an area. The 2026 Hiscox NOW appetite guide further says business owner’s policy is unavailable in Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia. Coverage remains subject to underwriting and class. ^1,7,8,23,6

A Los Angeles office on the contact page does not establish California product eligibility. Broker-facing Hiscox C-Suite materials say Hiscox is no longer entertaining management-liability risks in the metro areas of California. Appetite tables also mark many contractor professional-liability classes as not available in California. Confirm state, class and channel on the actual quote. ^22,26,23

Pie’s dedicated state page and AM Best describe workers’ compensation in 40 states and Washington, D.C., but Pie’s homepage and January 2026 release say 39 states plus D.C. Confirm the business locations and class codes in the current quote or agent portal. ^{38,39,28,40,49}

The reviewed BOP, cyber, general-liability and professional-liability pages do not publish a product-by-state availability table. Pie’s terms also say products are not available in every US area or situation. ^{34,35,37,36,31}

Hiscox says eligible buyers can get a small-business quote online by entering a zip code and answering questions, and that general liability, professional liability, cyber and BOP are offered online. Licensed advisors are available by phone at posted Eastern Time hours. The general-liability FAQ says that after the application is completed, the policy is issued by email and a certificate appears in welcome documents. These are company-described steps; eligibility and binding conditions require confirmation on the actual application. ^16,7,1

A small business can start a workers’ compensation quote on Pie’s website or work through an insurance agent; appointed agencies use a separate partner portal. ^29,28,30

The live direct quote starts with the business ZIP code. Pie’s workers’ compensation page says applicants also need their name, business name, annual payroll and class-code information. ^33,30

Pie advertises an online workers’ compensation quote in about three minutes, while expressly stating that individual quote times vary. This is a company claim and does not establish how long underwriting or binding will take for a particular risk. ^30,28

Hiscox says customers can start a claim online, by phone or by mail. The claims center lists 1-866-424-8508 with weekday and weekend Eastern hours; a professional-liability FAQ separately tells current customers that 866-424-8508 is open 24 hours a day. Hiscox says it assigns a specialized claims professional, validates coverage and may appoint an attorney for covered liability claims. Policies placed with Hartford, GEICO, NOW Insurance, Markel/Thimble or CyberPolicy markets may use different notice instructions. These statements describe a reporting process, not independently measured claims outcomes. ^17,27,7

Pie asks policyholders to report a workplace injury within 24 hours through its online form, 24/7 phone line or email. After intake, it says a claims professional follows up, determines whether the policy covers the claim and explains applicable benefits if accepted. ⁴⁷

Pie’s agency FAQ says Pie manages workers’ compensation claims in 34 states and CorVel handles Alaska, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon. That 39-state split is not reconciled with the separately advertised 40-state-plus-D.C. footprint. ^48,38,49