Hiscox vs USI Insurance Services Cyber Insurance

Hiscox Inc. sells cyber insurance directly online as a standalone product for small businesses, separate from its business owner's policy, which also offers an optional cyber add-on. ⁴Company-reported. Company-stated standalone small-business cyber product; the BOP cyber add-on is a distinct package option described on a different page.

USI is a broker, not an insurer, for cyber coverage. It places cyber and privacy liability policies for clients and layers on its own manuscripted program, PrivaSafe, rather than underwriting the risk itself. ^10,8Company-reported. PrivaSafe program page and USI's property & casualty and technology practice pages.

Hiscox's appetite guide and About Hiscox US page name Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. (NAIC 10200) as the underwriter of admitted Hiscox NOW cyber policies. ^6,3Company-reported. Admitted small-business cyber coverage as described in company materials; the exact contracting entity for a particular state or channel should be confirmed on the quote.

USI does not name the insurer that issues PrivaSafe or other cyber policies on the pages reviewed. PrivaSafe is described as a manuscripted (custom-drafted) coverage form that USI negotiates with the market, so the carrier varies by placement. ¹⁰Not publicly disclosed. PrivaSafe program page as read on 2026-09-23; no dedicated cyber carrier list was found.

Hiscox markets cyber insurance to small businesses broadly and specifically to IT and technology consultants, describing itself as customizing coverage for the technology sector's data-handling and security exposures. ^4,5Company-reported. Company-stated audience across the standalone cyber page and the IT-insurance page.

USI markets PrivaSafe to middle-market firms, saying they are particularly vulnerable to cyber events because they have limited in-house access to security expertise. The page also says any business that gathers personal or health information, manages a network, or accepts electronic payments is a potential target. ¹⁰Company-reported. Program page marketing description, not an underwriting appetite statement.

Hiscox describes cyber coverage as responding to data breaches, cyberattacks and related losses, and its IT-insurance page shows an illustrative breach-response example describing notification and related costs after a data incident. ^4,5Company-reported. Product-page description; the illustrative example is explicitly a hypothetical scenario, not a specific limit or claim outcome, and actual coverage terms are set by the issued policy.

USI describes PrivaSafe as covering three areas: liability costs (including inability to protect information and related tort liability), compliance and corrective costs (data breach and forensic costs, privacy regulatory costs, payment-card standards), and direct costs (network interruption, data reconstruction, cyber extortion, bricking, voluntary shutdown, reputational harm business interruption, and cyber crime). ¹⁰Company-reported. PrivaSafe program page; actual insuring agreements and exclusions are set by the issued policy form.

The cyber product page does not publish standard limit, retention or deductible amounts; figures shown elsewhere on the site are illustrative examples rather than quotes. ⁴Not publicly disclosed. Public product page as previously reviewed.

USI says PrivaSafe can prevent uninsured or underinsured losses up to $10 million, includes up to $2 million in notification-cost coverage in addition to the policy's aggregate limit, and $250,000 in defense-cost coverage outside the limit (with additional limit available). ¹⁰Company-reported. Program page figures describe the PrivaSafe structure generally; a buyer's actual limits, sublimits and retentions are set on the policy declarations.

The reviewed cyber product page does not describe ongoing security-monitoring or risk-prevention services made available to policyholders; it describes post-incident breach-response coverage rather than a monitoring service. ⁴Not found in reviewed sources. Standalone cyber product page as previously reviewed.

USI says PrivaSafe includes pre-breach services to help avoid cyber threats and post-breach services designed to streamline incident response and recovery, on top of USI's general property & casualty cyber specialists. ^10,11Company-reported. Program page and property-casualty practice team description.

Hiscox says eligible buyers can get a cyber insurance quote online, with a licensed-agent phone line available for questions during the process. ⁴Company-reported. Company-described online application; eligibility and binding conditions require confirmation on the actual application.

To review cyber exposure with USI, the program page says a buyer should be ready to provide current cyber policies (if any), an assessment of its largest financial and operational cyber vulnerabilities, and its most recent audited financials. ¹⁰Company-reported. PrivaSafe program page intake description.