Zurich-backed cyber underwriter Cowbell has launched operations in Australia.  

A platform for brokers is live and Alric Lal has been appointed head of business development and distribution, alongside Anthony Wall as head of underwriting, both based in Sydney.  

Cowbell was founded in 2019 in California and secured a $US60 million ($86 million) investment from Zurich in 2024. It also operates in the UK.

It uses artificial intelligence to identify and monitor risks, and estimates about 80% of SMEs in Australia are under- or uninsured for cyber.  

“We’ve expanded to the Australian market targeting the SME sector with our adaptive cyber approach, powered by agentic AI,” Mr Lal told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“The plan is to build out a team here on the ground. A local claims manager will be our next appointment, and our focus is predominantly in the SME space.

“There’s a lot of SME business to be had here – we’ve done the research and due diligence. Cowbell sees it as a particular growth market.”

Mr Lal was most recently UBT Protect Australia head of broking and has previously held senior broking roles at Marsh in New Zealand and Aon in London.  

Mr Wall was most recently AIG cyber practice lead. He has also held senior cyber underwriting roles at Munich Re and Chubb.  

Australia promises “a huge amount of growth”, Mr Lal says.  

“There’s substantial market share to be gained, and there are not many insurers offering the breadth of risk management advice or services we provide in terms of threat intelligence, dark web reporting, penetration testing and overarching risk resiliency services.

“A lot of it is complementary, and clients can look at their risk posture in real time in terms of online threats.”