Embroker business insurance

Overview

Embroker is an insurance agency, not an insurance company, and it works in two ways. For most buyers it is a digital broker: you apply on embroker.com, Embroker shops the policy and becomes your broker of record, and an outside insurer issues the policy. Its terms say policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the issuing carrier. Embroker also designs its own programs and sells them to other brokers through a portal called Embroker Access, acting in that role much like a managing general agent. Those programs name their paper: the Lawyers Professional Liability program is backed by Everest National Insurance Company, which Embroker describes as rated A+ by AM Best, and the excess tech E&O and cyber program is underwritten by Everspan Indemnity Insurance Company, rated A- (Excellent). Embroker says the Access programs are reinsured by several "A" rated reinsurers; when it raised money in 2021 it named Munich Re and Everest Re among them.

Embroker publishes how it is paid. Its compensation disclosure (revised May 3, 2024) lists the usual broker income: commissions as a percentage of premium, contingent commissions tied to growth, retention and loss results, fixed supplemental commissions, and client fees that it says must be agreed, usually in writing, before binding. It may also keep investment income on premiums it holds, be paid by insurers for administrative, underwriting or marketing support, and charge permitted servicing fees on some billing options. Using the software is free. how commercial insurance brokers get paid explains these arrangements.

The company is based in San Francisco, is licensed as a producer in every state and the District of Columbia, and says it has protected more than 9,500 businesses and placed more than 16,000 policies.

History

Matt Miller founded Embroker in 2015 to take the paperwork out of buying commercial insurance. Its own timeline:

• 2016: launched an online platform to apply for commercial insurance and manage policies.
• 2017: partnered with Munich Re to build its own insurance products that could be bought fully online.
• 2020: launched Embroker Access for brokers.
• 2021: raised $100 million in a round led by FTV Capital, with Hudson Structured Capital Management and Gaingels among other investors. At the time Embroker said the money would let it expand into becoming a licensed insurer. Embroker has not announced forming or buying a carrier since; its programs remain on Everest National and Everspan paper.
• 2023: launched Embroker One, a platform that uses machine learning to build coverage recommendations.
• 2024: launched a real estate program, a faster excess tech E&O and cyber process with Millennial Shift, and appointed Andy Lea chief insurance officer (August 2024).

Business insurance products

For startups and tech companies. The Embroker Management Insurance Suite bundles D&O, employment practices, fiduciary liability and tech E&O/cyber in one application, and appointed brokers can quote and bind it for most private companies. The D&O can extend to venture capital sponsors named alongside the company in a suit. The Tech E&O/Cyber form is written for private technology companies under $300 million in revenue, with limits up to $5 million and full limits for system damage, regulatory actions including GDPR and CCPA, PCI fines, ransomware (paid on the insured's behalf), business income and dependent business income. Social engineering, funds transfer fraud and bricking carry $500,000 sublimits. A SecurityScorecard rating of A or B can cut Tech E&O premium by up to 10%. See D&O insurance for private companies and startups and Technology E&O insurance for software, SaaS and IT firms.

For law firms. A package built around lawyers professional liability for firms with 1 to 25 attorneys that are claims-free with no disciplinary actions, with pre-claim help not subject to the deductible, a 50% deductible reduction for collaborative defense and worldwide coverage. Cyber, a BOP and workers' comp can be added. Embroker says more than 3,000 law firms use it.

Excess tech E&O and cyber. Up to $5 million of excess, attaching anywhere from the first to the tenth layer, over more than 50 primary carriers, on Everspan Indemnity paper. Cyber-only towers are not eligible.

Brokered lines. Through its brokerage Embroker also places general liability, a business owner's policy, commercial crime, professional liability, workers' compensation and key person insurance with outside carriers.

Who it insures

Embroker's sweet spot is funded and non-funded technology companies (SaaS, fintech, AI, digital health, HR tech), small law firms and other professional practices. The tech E&O appetite excludes crypto, blockchain and cannabis and requires multi-factor authentication above $5 million in revenue. The excess program excludes public entities, educational institutions, cannabis, adult entertainment and biotech and life sciences, among others. Contractors, restaurants, fleets and other main-street risks are not its focus.

How to buy

Online at embroker.com: answer an application, get a quote for many lines in minutes, and buy. Signing on makes Embroker your broker or agent of record, and its terms ask you to work exclusively with it for those brokerage services unless agreed otherwise. Some proposals include surplus lines insurers, which are not backed by state guaranty funds; Embroker's terms say so. If you already have a broker, that broker can get appointed with Embroker Access and sell Embroker's own programs to you instead. Embroker can also collect and track certificates of insurance.

Claims

On brokered policies, the issuing insurer decides the claim; Embroker's claims page tells policyholders to start in their account dashboard or report directly to the insurer named in the policy, and to call the hotline on the policy for an active ransomware or extortion event. Embroker says a claims professional will reach out after submission and that you will get a written coverage determination within 30 days.

On Embroker's own Access programs, notice goes to Embroker Claim Management Solutions LLC ([email protected], or by mail to 2021 Fillmore St., PMB 2361, San Francisco). Panel counsel is required for covered claims. For an urgent cyber event the instructions point to the declarations page or to breach counsel McDonald Hopkins, which monitors a dedicated incident inbox around the clock. See what happens when you file a cyber claim for the usual sequence.

Financial strength and ratings

Embroker is a broker and MGA with no financial strength rating of its own. The insurers on its programs carry the ratings: Embroker's broker pages describe Everest National Insurance Company as AM Best A+ and Everspan Indemnity Insurance Company as AM Best A- (Excellent) (both as stated on Embroker's pages in 2026). For brokered policies, check the specific insurer on your declarations page; AM Best ratings explained for business buyers covers what the grades mean. Embroker is private and publishes no financial results, and it is not ranked in J.D. Power's small commercial study.

Strengths and weaknesses

Embroker is a sensible fit for a venture-backed startup or a small law firm that wants to buy D&O, EPL, tech E&O or lawyers' E&O online without a long broker process. It is less suited to a business with property-heavy, auto or contracting exposures.

• Strengths: Purpose-built management liability and tech E&O/cyber forms with full-limit ransomware and regulatory cover; a lawyers' E&O program on A+ rated Everest paper; online quoting and a policy dashboard; clear, published compensation disclosure.
• Weaknesses: An agency, so claims and solvency depend on the issuing insurer; contingent and supplemental commissions mean it is paid partly by insurers based on results; narrow appetite outside tech and professional services; its 2021 plan to become a licensed insurer has not visibly materialized.

How to contact Embroker