Best Painting Contractor Business Insurance

Finding the right painting business insurance protects your operation from liability claims and property damage. The Hartford earned our top recommendation with a MoneyGeek score of 4.55 out of 5, standing out for quality service and comprehensive coverage options. Thimble and Nationwide also offer strong protection for painting contractors at competitive rates.

Note: We based all scores on a painting business with two employees across professional liability, general liability, workers' comp and BOP policies.

Thimble offers the cheapest painting contractor insurance for most coverage types. General liability costs just $43 monthly, and business owner's policies run $67 monthly. Both coverage types ranking first among providers we studied. For workers' compensation, NEXT Insurance leads at $66 monthly, with Thimble close behind at $67. The Hartford offers the most affordable professional liability coverage at $57 monthly, protecting you from client disputes over project quality.

Thimble offers the cheapest general liability insurance for painting contractors at $43 monthly or $519 annually. That's 70% below the industry average of $144 monthlt and protects your painting business financially when clients claim property damage from paint spills or bodily injury from job site accidents. The Hartford ($113 monthly) and Nationwide ($125 monthly) also offer competitive rates worth comparing.

NEXT Insurance offers the cheapest workers' compensation at $132 monthly ($1,580 annually)saving you $96 annually compared to the $140 monthly average. The Hartford and Thimble both offer competitive $134 monthly rates as strong alternatives.

The Hartford provides the cheapest professional liability insurance at $57 monthly ($685 annually), 11% below the $64 monthly average. NEXT ($59 monthly), Progressive Commercial ($60 monthly) and Thimble ($63 monthly) offer similarly affordable rates for professional painters.

Thimble leads with the most affordable BOP insurance for painting contractors at just $67 monthly ($806 annually). You'll save $1,730 annually compared to the $211 monthly industry average. That's money that stays in your business for equipment upgrades or crew hiring. The Hartford ($156 monthly) and Nationwide ($187 monthly) rank as competitive second choices.

In general, business insurance costs for painting contractors are the following for the four most popular coverage types:

• General Liability: $144 on average per month ranging from $43 to $194 depending on state
• Workers Comp: $140 on average per month ranging from $132 to $162 depending on state
• Professional Liability (E&O): $64 on average per month ranging from $57 to $74 depending on state
• BOP Insurance: $211 on average per month ranging from $67 to $293 depending on state

Most states require workers' compensation if you have employees, and general liability insurance is essential since clients and general contractors demand proof before letting you on-site. Beyond these required coverages for painting contractors, you'll want commercial auto to protect work vehicles and additional policies depending on your specific operations and risk exposure.

• General Liability Insurance: General liability insurance protects your painting business when accidents damage client property or injure people on the job. If your pressure washer cracks a homeowner's siding, primer overspray ruins outdoor furniture or a client slips on your drop cloth and needs surgery, this coverage handles the repair costs and legal fees. Most commercial clients and general contractors won't even let you on-site without proof of coverage, with typical limits of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate being the baseline requirement for most painting jobs.
• Workers' Compensation Insurance: Falls from extension ladders, chemical burns from paint strippers, shoulder injuries from overhead rolling and respiratory problems from inadequate ventilation send painters to the hospital more often than most business owners realize. Most states legally require this coverage once you hire your first employee, and operating without it means fines that can reach tens of thousands of dollars plus potential jail time.
• Commercial Auto Insurance: Your personal auto policy won't cover accidents that happen while your truck carries paint cans, sprayers and ladders to a job site. Commercial auto insurance protects your work vehicles and covers damage when you cause an accident, like backing your van into a client's garage door or sideswiping a parked car while maneuvering equipment. Most painting contractors carry $1 million in liability limits to match their general liability coverage, especially when hauling $10,000 worth of equipment daily.
• Commercial Property Insurance: Commercial property insurance covers your painting equipment, supplies and workspace when theft or disaster strikes. A break-in at your storage unit could wipe out $30,000 worth of airless sprayers, scaffolding and unopened paint inventory in one night. A burst pipe could ruin your entire supply of specialty finishes and brushes. Whether you run operations from a leased warehouse or a garage behind your house, commercial property gets you back in business without draining your savings.
• Inland Marine Insurance: Inland marine insurance protects your painting equipment when it leaves your property, covering theft or damage at job sites and during transport between locations. Expensive airless sprayers disappear from job sites regularly. Ladders fly off trucks on the highway. Other contractors knock into your scaffolding and damage it. Since you constantly move thousands of dollars worth of gear to different properties, this coverage fills critical gaps that standard property insurance won't touch.
• Professional Liability Insurance (Errors and Omissions): A homeowner might say your paint recommendation caused premature peeling that requires a $20,000 re-paint. A commercial client could claim you missed their deadline and cost them lost business. This coverage handles your legal defense. Contractors who offer color consulting, warranty their work or handle high-end residential and commercial projects find this protection valuable for protecting their reputation and finances.
• Umbrella Insurance: Umbrella insurance adds an extra $1 million to $5 million in protection when catastrophic claims blow past your primary coverage limits. A scaffolding collapse that seriously injures three workers or a chemical spill that contaminates a client's property and groundwater could generate claims far exceeding your standard $1 million limits.

Finding the best and cheapest business insurance for your painting company takes a systematic approach. Getting business insurance doesn't need to be overwhelming when you compare coverage options and find the right protection at rates that fit your budget.

Painting businesses need general liability and workers' compensation as essential protection, plus commercial auto and inland marine insurance to cover equipment moving between job sites. The Hartford offers the best overall coverage for painting contractors with reliable service and comprehensive options. Professional painters on a budget can get solid protection through Thimble, which starts at $43 monthly for general liability coverage.

We answer frequently asked questions about painting business insurance:

We selected the best business insurer for painting companies based on the following criteria:

• Affordability (50% of score): The lower a company's costs compared to the competition based on our base profile for four core coverage types, the better the company performs.
• Customer service (30% of score): We scored providers on overall customer satisfaction using industry studies, customer review forum ratings and public forum sentiment analysis from sites like Reddit.
• Coverage (15% of score): We scored business insurance providers for this category based on the flexibility, payment and actual coverage options.
• Financial stability (5% of score): Using financial stability industry ratings from companies like AM Best and Moody's, we created an overall rating to judge how likely companies are to pay out claims compared to the competition.

All pricing in this article is based on the following base profile to represent the vast majority of small businesses in all states:

• Three-person business with two employees
• Coverage: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million total per year for all but BOP, which includes the same coverage plus $5,000 of business property coverage
• $150,000 in payroll
• $300,000 annual revenue