An enterprise customer asks for cyber insurance. You collect a few quotes, all with a $1 million limit. They look similar until you ask who pays for the forensic investigation, what happens when your cloud provider goes down, and whether a customer’s claim about broken software is covered.
Those answers matter more than the logo on the certificate.
For a SaaS or AI startup buying cyber alongside Tech E&O and the rest of its business insurance, we recommend starting with Corgi. Our startup packages put Cyber, Tech E&O, General Liability and D&O in the same conversation. That makes it easier to build around your product and customer contracts as the business grows.
Coalition and At-Bay deserve a close look if security tools and incident-response services are central to your decision. Chubb is worth comparing when you need a broker-led program with international reach. Here’s where each fits, and what we would ask before buying.
The quick comparison
| Provider | Best fit in this comparison | What stands out | What to check in your quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corgi | SaaS and AI startups coordinating cyber with their wider insurance program | Startup packages spanning product, data and leadership risks | Include the first-party cyber extensions you need; review Tech E&O and any AI endorsement together |
| Coalition | Teams prioritizing active cyber-risk management | Coalition Control, incident-response support and a separate breach-response limit | The actual response limit, selected crime coverages and any Tech E&O or AI endorsement |
| At-Bay | Teams evaluating insurance alongside security services | Stance security platform and optional managed detection and response | Embedded Security Endorsement, activation requirements and separately purchased services |
| Chubb | Companies with more complex or international operations | Cyber ERM, combined DigiTech ERM and multinational capabilities | Which product is quoted, cybercrime endorsements and any widespread-event restrictions |
Compare the complete proposed policies, including extensions. A liability-only quote and a package that also pays incident costs aren't equivalent.
1. Corgi: our choice for startups that need the policies to fit together
Cyber is rarely the only policy a software startup needs. Your next customer might ask for Cyber and Tech E&O. Your board might ask for D&O. A new office adds General Liability requirements. Handling each request separately makes it easier to miss how the coverage fits together.
We built Corgi’s startup insurance options around those overlapping needs. You can review the policies against the same product description and the same contract, rather than treating the cyber quote as a separate task.
Our standard Cyber Liability form addresses third-party security and privacy claims. To cover your own response costs, we would also review the relevant breach-response, cyber-extortion, business-interruption and funds-transfer-fraud extensions. Regulatory defense needs an appropriate endorsement, where available and legally insurable. Our Cyber Liability page explains those choices.
For a SaaS company storing customer records, we would review both the liability and the cost of responding to an incident. For an AI company, we would also look at what the product can do to a customer’s business. Corgi’s standard Tech E&O excludes AI-related claims; our optional AI and Algorithmic Liability endorsement provides selected coverage modules. Our AI coverage guide explains what to check.
That approach has a practical customer example. AI company Artisan needed higher limits and broader coverage as enterprise demand grew. Founder Jasper reports that Corgi arranged and bound the coverage in two days.
For us, that is the reason to choose Corgi: a team working through the insurance requirements around your next stage of growth. If you are mainly shopping for an outsourced security operation, compare the specific services below as well.
2. Coalition: a strong option for active cyber-risk management
Coalition combines insurance with tools intended to help identify and reduce cyber risk. Its Active Cyber and AI Insurance includes access to Coalition Control and advertises a separate breach-response limit, pay-on-behalf cyber-extortion coverage and protection for certain AI-related security events.
The separate response limit is worth examining. If lawyers, investigators and notification costs consume the same limit as a later lawsuit, less may remain for that lawsuit. Ask how the proposed policy divides those amounts.
Coalition’s coverage descriptions also address contingent business interruption, invoice manipulation and funds-transfer fraud. Its affiliated incident-response service is an option through the provider panel, subject to availability.
Software companies should compare its Tech E&O offering, too. It can be combined with Active Cyber; an Enhanced AI Coverage Endorsement addresses specified AI product or service errors.
Choose Coalition when its risk-management platform and response model are a major part of what you want to buy. Ask which tools your team will actually use, who handles an incident, and which services or expenses fall under the insurance. Access to a dashboard and payment for a loss are different benefits.
3. At-Bay: a strong option for pairing insurance with security support
At-Bay’s Cyber product highlights direct and contingent business interruption, system failure, cyber extortion and financial-fraud coverages. Its Stance platform adds a security component: access is tied to policies carrying the Embedded Security Endorsement.
Look closely at the package details. At-Bay lists vulnerability monitoring, advisory support and training in its Core offering. Endpoint and email managed detection and response are separate purchases; some coverage enhancements depend on qualifying controls or activation. MDR is not required to buy At-Bay insurance.
At-Bay also publishes an in-house response and recovery service, while its Tech E&O product combines professional liability and cyber protection for technology companies.
Choose At-Bay when you want to assess the insurance and security-service package together. Involve whoever owns security before you buy. They should understand the work needed to activate the services, how those services fit existing tools, and the ongoing cost.
For a founder comparing quotes, the useful question is straightforward: “What protection are we getting with the insurance, and what changes if we buy the additional security services?” Have the answer written into the comparison rather than assuming everything on the product page is included.
4. Chubb: worth comparing for complex and international needs
Chubb’s US cyber product range includes Cyber ERM and DigiTech ERM. The latter combines technology E&O, media and cyber exposures in one policy. Chubb also offers multinational cyber programs supported by local incident-response teams.
Its published cyber options span incident response, business interruption, data recovery and third-party liability. Cybercrime protections, including social engineering, are available by endorsement. For a software company, ask for the DigiTech proposal as well as any standalone cyber option so you can compare the whole requirement.
Chubb’s US cyber services include risk-advisor access and a small-business security collection. Selected services are complimentary for the first year for eligible businesses with 100 employees or fewer, subject to vendor and new-customer conditions.
Choose Chubb when you need help structuring a more complex program, particularly across countries. Your broker should explain how the proposal treats a major shared-software or supply-chain incident. Chubb’s DigiTech brochure describes endorsements that can tailor limits, retentions and coinsurance for widespread events. That is a useful discussion for a startup dependent on a small number of critical vendors.
Start with the incident your startup could actually face
A generic “Do you cover cyberattacks?” gets a generic answer. Try a specific situation instead.
Your customer database is exposed. Who pays to investigate and notify people? What responds if a customer sues? The North Carolina Department of Insurance’s coverage examples distinguish those first-party costs from third-party claims.
Your cloud provider suffers an outage. Ask about dependent or contingent business interruption, whether non-malicious system failure is included, and how long the outage must last before coverage starts. Your own systems being insured does not settle the vendor question.
An attacker impersonates your finance lead. Ask about social engineering, funds-transfer fraud and verification requirements. A stolen payment and stolen customer data are different losses.
Your software makes an expensive mistake. A faulty integration or an AI agent’s incorrect action can create a customer financial-loss claim without a breach. Review Tech E&O alongside Cyber, including the wording for your actual AI use.
Give each provider the same situations and compare the answers against its proposed wording.
Five things to compare before you choose
The same protection.
List liability, response costs, ransomware, interruption, fraud and Tech E&O separately. Mark anything excluded or optional.
The money available.
Compare each-claim limits, annual totals, smaller sublimits and your retention. Check whether defense costs reduce the limit and whether Cyber and Tech E&O share one total.
Your actual dependencies.
Identify the cloud, payments, identity and AI services you rely on. Ask how an incident at one of them is treated.
The first call.
Know how to report an incident, who can engage lawyers and investigators, and when insurer approval is required. Save that information before something happens.
The contract and start date.
Match the quote to the customer’s requested limits and insurer requirements. If replacing claims-made coverage, review continuity and the retroactive date before cancelling the old policy.
Frequently asked questions
How much does cyber insurance cost for a startup?
Get a quote for your business and the coverage you want. Revenue, data, product, security controls, limits and retention affect the comparison. A package price that includes other policies is not a standalone cyber premium. Our Cyber insurance guide explains what to prepare.
Is $1 million of cyber insurance enough?
Start with your customer requirements, then consider the losses the policy needs to address. A $1 million overall limit with a smaller fraud sublimit does not provide $1 million for a fraudulent payment. Also check how much remains after defense and response costs.
Does an AI startup need both Cyber and Tech E&O?
Review both if you handle sensitive data and sell technology customers rely on. Cyber addresses security and privacy risks; Tech E&O addresses covered claims about your technology work. An AI-related cyberattack and an incorrect AI output require different coverage questions.
Build the quote around your next customer
For a SaaS or AI startup that needs to coordinate Cyber with its wider insurance, Corgi is where we would start. You can bring the customer’s insurance clause, a short product description and your existing policies to one team, then work through the coverages together.
Explore Corgi’s Cyber Liability options or talk to our team. Tell us what you are building and what the customer needs. We will help you put the right questions—and the right coverage—in the same place.
