The centre of the AI build out: foundation model companies, agent startups, and the enterprise customers who buy from them, concentrated in SoMa, the Mission, and the Financial District.
San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Palo Alto's southern edge: hardware, chips, robotics, and enterprise software, where product liability and property sit alongside the software stack.
The Peninsula corridor from South San Francisco biotech through San Mateo to Redwood City: life sciences, fintech, and SaaS, with South San Francisco's lab cluster driving a distinct risk profile.
Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, and Fremont: research spinouts, climate and hardware tech, and robotics, often with lab and workshop space that changes the property and liability picture.
San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley, and Sausalito: smaller software, agency, and professional services firms, plus founders who live here and run companies elsewhere. Our home ground.
Walnut Creek, Concord, San Ramon, and Lafayette: back office, professional services, healthtech operations, and the East Bay's corporate corridor along I-680.
California specifics that actually matter
- Workers compensation is mandatory from the first employee, and California audits are unforgiving about class codes and payroll records.
- California employment claims drive EPLI pricing and the wage and hour gap in most management liability forms.
- Surplus lines placements (where most dedicated AI programmes sit) carry California surplus lines tax and stamping requirements, handled at placement.
Talk through your stack before you sign the next contract
Send us the term sheet, the customer MSA, or the renewal you are worried about. We will tell you plainly what it requires, what your current programme does about it, and what we would place differently.