Cowbell, an online and specialist insurance provider focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises, has officially entered the Australian market and launched Prime One, with policies written in paper form from Zurich Australia Insurance Company.
The insurer has appointed industry veterans Anthony Wall and Alric Lal to lead the expansion. The program is a standalone cyber insurance policy for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with an annual turnover of up to A$100 million.
The coverage is supported by Zurich’s financial strength and local presence, coupled with Cowbell’s AI underwriting platform, in-house claims capabilities and comprehensive resiliency services.
The policy is designed to be quoted, bound and issued in 5 minutes and is available through licensed insurance brokers.
The insurer explained that in its multi-year, fully commissioned, exclusive partnership with Zurich, it offers Prime One, simple, modern cyber insurance with limits up to $5 million, inclusive of any one claim (AOC), in line with how Australian businesses operate.
Every policy includes access to Cowbell’s complete ecosystem of resiliency tools and insights designed to help businesses strengthen their defenses in the event of an incident.
Wall was named head of underwriting and brings deep cyber expertise. Most recently, he served as head of cyber at AIG and has held senior cyber underwriting positions at Munich Re and Chubb. Earlier in his career, Wall worked for nearly ten years at Liberty International Underwriters in Australia and the United States and more than six years at Aon.
At the same time, Lal was appointed head of business development for Australia. He has twenty years of expertise in the corporate brokerage and finance sectors and was previously head of brokerage at UBT in Sydney. Earlier in his career, Lal held senior brokerage roles at Marsh in Auckland and Aon in London.
Jack Kudale, founder and CEO of Cowbell, commented: “Cyber ​​protection shouldn’t be complicated; it should give businesses the confidence to move forward. By partnering with Zurich, we are providing Australian organizations with a proven foundation for cyber resilience, backed by Cowbell’s proven track record of ongoing underwriting, risk intelligence and managing cyber risk.”
Simon Hughes, Chief Commercial Officer at Cowbell, added: “With independent network coverage reaching only 20% of Australian SMEs, brokers are looking for trusted clarity and support to help them reach the other 80% of SMEs. Prime One delivers easy-to-explain clarity and coverage, backed by the quiet, steady confidence that Cowbell brings to every global market we serve.”
