What happened
In its January 2026 edition, ISO introduced GenAI exclusion forms for commercial general liability: CG 40 47, CG 40 48, and the CG 35 08 variant. Carriers file and adopt them at different speeds and in different lines. Separately, W.R. Berkley's absolute AI exclusion across D&O, employment practices, and fiduciary lines is the most cited example of the exclusionary end of the market.
Why it matters to a startup
Exclusions arrive at renewal, quietly, in endorsement schedules few founders read. A company can renew in good faith and lose the AI cover it assumed it had, in the same quarter its largest customer starts asking whether AI is affirmatively covered.
What to do
Audit the incumbent programme line by line: D&O, EPLI, Tech E&O, cyber, and GL. Where an exclusion or a low sublimit appears, the answers are negotiation, a different carrier's affirmative wording, a standalone AI policy, or a difference in conditions wrap such as Relm's PONTAAI or Mayflower's AI DIC Excess.
The brokers' position
Marsh wrote to market leaders in October 2026 saying it cannot support broad or absolute AI exclusions, and WTW and Aon have published similar cautions. The direction of the professional market is against blanket exclusions; your renewal should reflect that.
Frequently asked questions
How do we know if our policy has an AI exclusion?
It will be an endorsement in the policy forms list, often with an ISO form number. If you cannot find it, that is common; send us the full policy and we will read the forms schedule for you.
Can an exclusion be removed?
Sometimes, by negotiation or by moving the line to a carrier with affirmative wording. Where it cannot, a standalone or DIC policy fills the gap.
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.