Cowbell

Cowbell is a cyber insurer offering an AI-powered “adaptive” cyber insurance product for SMBs with up to USD 500 million in revenue, bundled with comprehensive cyber risk management tools and resources to improve their risk profile, avoid cyber incidents, and minimize claims.

The firm writes its own admitted lines coverage on A-rated paper through its admitted carrier Cowbell Specialty and also operates as a managing general agent (MGA) to offer surplus coverage written by partner insurance carriers. Cowbell offers standalone cyber policies, with comprehensive first- and third-party coverage including breach costs, ransomware payments, hardware and data replacement costs, and contractual damages or regulatory fees and fines.

Cowbell’s AI-powered underwriting platform leverages a series of proprietary risk ratings called Cowbell Factors to gauge a potential policyholder’s risk profile. Businesses are continuously underwritten throughout the issuance and coverage cycle to tailor coverage to each firm’s unique environment and provide comprehensive risk insights and resources to improve their cyber posture. Cowbell Factors reportedly covers a risk pool of over 31 million businesses or 92% of US SMEs (as of July 2023).

In April 2023, Cowbell introduced “MooGPT,” a collection of generative AI tools for its broker partners and policyholders that act as a source of on-demand security and policy-related information.

Key customers and partnerships

The company serves thousands of customers and has a network of more than 23,000 agents and 3,500 agencies across retail, wholesale, and embedded channels as of May 2023 and partners with various companies, including cloud platform and cloud security vendors, cyber advisory firms, and managed services companies, to provide policyholders access, with incentives, to robust security and risk solutions.

Cowbell is backed by 20 prominent insurers and reinsurers, including Skyward Specialty. Palomar, Swiss Re, and Obsidian, and launched its own captive reinsurer Cowbell Re in January 2022 to bolster capacity and gain flexibility in insurance operations.

Funding and financials

In November 2023, Cowbell raised USD 25 million in fresh funding from Prosperity7 Ventures, a diversified growth fund of Aramco, and several new and existing investors to help make its cyber insurance business profitable, with a focus on enhancing its offering for markets in the US and UK.