What Is Lockton?

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. ^1,13,20

Lockton markets to organizations seeking risk, benefits and retirement brokerage. Its US technology practice says it works with clients in electronic hardware, information technology, internet, medical equipment, semiconductors, software and telecommunications. Separate pages address private-equity firms, including portfolio-company programs. The reviewed pages do not publish a minimum company size, funding stage or revenue floor for technology clients. ^1,2,10

For a Bay Area company, that can mean a conversation about cyber and directors and officers (D&O) coverage, a casualty and property program as you add offices or inventory, or employee benefits through Lockton People Solutions. Those labels are brokerage offerings; the insurer, form and price show up in a proposal. ^2 5 8

Pros and Cons

Pros

• A documented technology practice, not only a generic commercial desk. The US technology page names hardware, software, internet, semiconductors, medical equipment and telecommunications clients, and it treats cyber liability and D&O as core topics alongside contract review and international program design. That gives a technology founder a specialist team to question, rather than inferring tech capability from a logo. ²
• Coverage catalogue spans risk and people solutions. Dedicated US pages list casualty lines, property, workers’ compensation, fiduciary liability and employee benefits, with cyber and D&O on their own product pages. Private-equity materials also list errors and omissions (E&O), crime, employment practices liability, surety, key-person and transaction insurance, including representations and warranties, plus portfolio-company programs. ^5 6 9 10
• Compensation types are disclosed even when amounts are not. Terms of Business explain insurer commissions, possible client fees, contingent and supplemental commissions, and other income sources, and they tell you to ask for account-specific figures. That is a concrete agenda for a first meeting. ¹³
• Claims work is described as advocacy beside the broking team. D&O, fiduciary and technology pages describe insurance and claims counsel integrated with brokers. Separate loss-prevention pages describe investigations, mapping facts to policies and discussions with insurer counsel. That is a service description to test in a quote, not evidence of how claims are decided. ^4 11

Cons

• You cannot bind coverage from the public website. Contact is an inquiry form or an email to a practice mailbox. Site terms say the content is general information, not broking advice. Early-stage teams used to instant online quotes will need a human process and should not treat the form as a bind request. ^12 14
• Named insurers are not published. Terms say Lockton need not use any particular insurer and generally cannot bind one. Surplus-lines markets may appear when admitted terms are not available. You cannot compare financial strength or form quality from the marketing site alone. ¹³
• California product access is not settled by office listings. San Francisco, Los Angeles and Irvine offices exist, and Lockton certificates print a California DBA and license number, but current producer-license status remains independently unverified. An office in California is not eligibility for a California policy. ^17 21 22
• Scale and independence claims are company-reported. Private ownership and “world’s largest independent brokerage” language appear throughout. They do not tell you whether Lockton will take a small account, what it will charge, or how a local producer is staffed. ^1 20

How It Works

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. ^12,1,15,3,14

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. ^13,14,21

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. ^21,22

Once engaged, Terms of Business say Lockton markets programs to insurers, may use other intermediaries (including affiliates), and may place surplus-lines coverage when it cannot obtain requested terms in the admitted market. Proposals, coverage summaries and certificates are described as convenience documents that do not replace the policy. ¹³

Coverage and Availability

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. ^{2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

Lockton publishes a US regional site, a Kansas City headquarters address, and California office listings in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Irvine under the heading Lockton Insurance Brokers. Those offices and the US website do not establish that a particular product is available to a California-domiciled company, or in every US state. Terms of Business also contemplate surplus-lines placements when admitted markets are not used. ^{16,17,18,19,13}

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. ^13,3,7

Educational articles on technology E&O explain how those policies typically work. Those explanations do not establish the technology E&O product or wording available for your company. Ask whether professional or technology E&O is on the proposed program if your contracts require it. ^2 10

Service and Compensation

Casualty pages say the same dedicated service team stays with the client through the process. Technology pages describe a round-the-clock service model. Terms of Business cover day-to-day servicing, risk control, insurance renewal services, policy administration and the use of intermediaries (including Lockton affiliates) in servicing and placement. Property pages say the team that meets the client also negotiates with markets rather than a remote broking center. A public client-portal feature list was not established beyond a Lockton Portal login link on the US site. ^5,2,13,6,1

US Terms of Business say Lockton may be paid insurer commissions (a percentage of premium), negotiated client fees in lieu of or in addition to commissions, additional compensation such as contingent or supplemental commissions, insurer service fees (including for some managing-general-agency or analytics work), compensation involving affiliate Lockton Re, LLC on reinsurance placements, and interest or premium-finance related income. Commissions are described as fully earned at inception unless law or insurer contracts say otherwise. The terms tell clients to ask their Lockton representative for account-specific compensation. No public fee schedule, commission percentages or typical startup pricing appears on the reviewed pages. ¹³

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. ^{2,4,9,11,7,13}

What to Confirm in a Quote

• The legal producer on the engagement letter, broker-of-record form and any California surplus-lines paperwork, and a current license verification for that entity and the individual producer.
• Whether Lockton will accept the size and stage of your company, including bootstrapped or early-venture accounts, which the public technology page does not define.
• The issuing insurer (or insurers) for each line, admitted versus surplus-lines status in California or other operating states, and specimen or proposed forms, limits, retentions and exclusions.
• How cyber, D&O, E&O and general liability interact if customers require professional-services coverage.
• Compensation: commission, client fee, contingent or supplemental amounts, affiliate placements, and whether commissions remain earned if you cancel midterm.
• Service: named team, claims-advocacy scope, certificate turnaround, and whether a portal will be used.
• Renewal and replacement of any existing broker, including gaps Lockton says it will not take responsibility for if another broker placed prior coverage. ¹³