Small Business Insurance Cost Estimate Calculator

You can get personalized small business insurance cost estimates just by entering your desired coverage type, industry, employee count and vehicle type (if applicable). We do not collect any personal information and all rates are aggregated for all 50 states and Washington D.C. Workers' comp rate estimates are provided on a per employee basis.

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Select Employee Count
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Average Monthly Rate—

How Much Does Small Business Insurance Cost on Average?

Average small business insurance costs sit at $111/mo across the six most common coverage types, but most companies pay between $60 to $110 per month for a single policy type. However, these costs represent our analysis of 1 to 4 person businesses across 408 industries, all states (including Washington D.C.), and 16 vehicle types (for commercial auto). Pricing changes widely depending on what type or types (if bundling) you buy, your industry, state, employee count and vehicles you're insuring (if this applies).

The most common bundle of a BOP policy (Business Owner's Policy) costs $221/mo with the same assumptions, combining general liability, commercial property and business interruption insurance. If you need commercial auto in addition to these coverages it is around $152/mo added on ($373/mo total) and if you're needing worker's comp, it would be $99/mo more on average to add to the bundle ($330/mo total or $454/mo if you also need commercial auto).

Professional Liability
$56
$675
$13 to $210
Cyber Insurance
$83
$999
$37 to $187
Workers' Comp
$113
$1,354
$15 to $591
General Liability
$123
$1,474
$8 to $652
Commercial Property
$125
$1,498
$7 to $709
Commercial Auto
$163
$1,959
$85 to $1,168

If you'd like to examine a specific small business insurance type's cost in more detail, we've left dedicated resources below.

Factors That Affect Small Business Insurance Costs

In general, four factors influence small business insurance costs at baseline including your industry, employee count (business size), state and vehicle type (commercial auto only). Other factors such as income, payroll, and claims history are derived from these baseline business profile components and provide the most accurate picture of your pricing.

Below, we break down why each affects your rates and how influential they are towards your small business insurance rate.

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    Employee Count or Business Size

    In most cases, the amount of people your business employs determine the magnitude of risk you are likely to be exposed to. More people means more revenue, payroll, risk of mistakes, property, vehicles and higher value clients. 

    It is an insurers fundamental starting point for answering how much risk can a small business be exposed to, so is the most influential factor determining your pricing across all six major coverage types. In our study, rates cover a wide range from $26/mo for sole proprietors to $2,298/mo for a 20-to-49-person business (primarily due to general liability exposure).

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    Your Industry

    Your industry is the second most influential factor that affects business insurance rates, with pricing varying from $7/mo to 1,168/mo for a 1-to-4-person business across all coverage types we studied. This is mainly due to it determining the type of work you do, likely clientele you work with which is the main answer to what risk you are exposed to. Insurers will almost always ask for your industry first when getting a quote since it sets the environment for your possible risk of claims.

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    Location

    Think of your state or area as the container in which your risk exists. It indirectly influences the environment you operate in and is the overarching arm that sets the stage for legal environments associated with claims and likelihood for commercial crime. While intuitively it may seem like a major factor, it is the least influential towards your pricing overall, and average costs vary only from $50 to $312 per month for a 1-to-4-person business for all six major coverage types we studied.

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    Vehicle Type

    While this is auto insurance specific, the type of vehicle you are using for commercial purposes works closely with your state and is similar in magnitude to the effect employee count has. Rates on a per vehicle basis range from $110/mo for sedans to $1,447/mo for HAZMAT tanker trucks, making it the most influential factor for commercial auto pricing.

Average Small Business Insurance Costs by Coverage Type and Industry

At the industry category level, small business insurance costs for a 1-to-4-person business range from $12/mo to $480/mo. When analyzing the aggregate patterns within the six coverage types and 25 general industry categories, we found the following distribution compared to the overall average across them:

  • Lower-Tier Pricing (20%+ Below Average): 13 out of 25 industries (52%)
  • Mid-Tier Pricing (Within 20% of Average): 7 out of 25 industries (28%)
  • High-Tier Pricing (20%+ Above Average): 5 out of 25 industries (20%)

80% of industries sit well below the overall average cost of business insurance, with the majority (52%) sitting over 20% below national benchmarks. Office based services dominate the lower end of the distribution with marketing, beauty and consulting companies paying the least for business insurance with rates over 51% lower on average. On the other side of the spectrum, transportation, contracting, wholesale and manufacturing businesses pay the most sitting 62% or higher than average.

Below you can filter the table to find out where your industry fits on this spectrum for these coverage types. Affordability rank and percentage difference are both calculated relative to the national average for that specific coverage type, not across all coverage types combined. Workers' comp rates shown are on a per employee basis.

Data filtered by:
Select
Agriculture & Natural ResourcesGeneral Liability$100$1,202-18%17
Agriculture & Natural ResourcesCommercial Auto$159$1,9073%14
Agriculture & Natural ResourcesCyber Insurance$52$62138%1
Agriculture & Natural ResourcesCommercial Property$110$1,31512%19
Agriculture & Natural ResourcesWorkers' Comp$180$2,162-60%22
Arts, Media & EntertainmentGeneral Liability$38$456-69%4
Arts, Media & EntertainmentCommercial Auto$128$1,53622%8
Arts, Media & EntertainmentCyber Insurance$71$85514%7
Arts, Media & EntertainmentProfessional Liability$39$47130%7
Arts, Media & EntertainmentCommercial Property$24$28881%5
Arts, Media & EntertainmentWorkers' Comp$102$1,22510%18
Beauty, Body & Wellness ServicesWorkers' Comp$16$19686%1
Beauty, Body & Wellness ServicesGeneral Liability$40$483-67%5
Beauty, Body & Wellness ServicesProfessional Liability$34$40340%4
Beauty, Body & Wellness ServicesCommercial Auto$98$1,17140%3
Beauty, Body & Wellness ServicesCyber Insurance$82$9832%17
Beauty, Body & Wellness ServicesCommercial Property$24$29181%6
Childcare ServicesGeneral Liability$128$1,5304%23
Childcare ServicesProfessional Liability$166$1,988-195%18
Childcare ServicesCommercial Auto$146$1,74711%12
Childcare ServicesCyber Insurance$73$88112%10
Childcare ServicesCommercial Property$23$27382%4
Childcare ServicesWorkers' Comp$41$49264%7
Cleaning ServicesGeneral Liability$100$1,199-19%16
Cleaning ServicesProfessional Liability$19$22467%1
Cleaning ServicesCommercial Auto$182$2,189-12%20
Cleaning ServicesCyber Insurance$65$78322%5
Cleaning ServicesCommercial Property$26$30780%7
Cleaning ServicesWorkers' Comp$135$1,619-20%20
Construction & ContractingGeneral Liability$337$4,041174%25
Construction & ContractingProfessional Liability$84$1,010-50%16
Construction & ContractingCommercial Auto$193$2,317-18%23
Construction & ContractingCyber Insurance$75$89810%11
Construction & ContractingCommercial Property$130$1,558-4%20
Construction & ContractingWorkers' Comp$319$3,822-182%24
Consulting ServicesWorkers' Comp$23$27879%4
Consulting ServicesGeneral Liability$32$390-74%3
Consulting ServicesProfessional Liability$51$61010%11
Consulting ServicesCommercial Auto$104$1,24436%5
Consulting ServicesCyber Insurance$100$1,197-20%21
Consulting ServicesCommercial Property$13$15989%2
EducationGeneral Liability$48$576-61%7
EducationProfessional Liability$74$890-32%15
EducationCommercial Auto$124$1,48824%7
EducationCyber Insurance$73$88012%9
EducationCommercial Property$52$62458%14
EducationWorkers' Comp$73$88035%15
Financial ServicesWorkers' Comp$16$19785%2
Financial ServicesGeneral Liability$42$505-66%6
Financial ServicesProfessional Liability$91$1,095-62%17
Financial ServicesCommercial Auto$94$1,12343%2
Financial ServicesCyber Insurance$114$1,365-37%23
Financial ServicesCommercial Property$26$30879%8
Fitness ServicesGeneral Liability$104$1,244-16%18
Fitness ServicesProfessional Liability$30$36546%2
Fitness ServicesCommercial Auto$103$1,24037%4
Fitness ServicesCyber Insurance$76$9149%12
Fitness ServicesCommercial Property$31$37475%10
Fitness ServicesWorkers' Comp$74$89234%16
Food & BeverageWorkers' Comp$46$55059%8
Food & BeverageGeneral Liability$126$1,5163%22
Food & BeverageCommercial Auto$181$2,175-11%19
Food & BeverageCyber Insurance$81$9762%16
Food & BeverageCommercial Property$69$82645%18
Healthcare & MedicalWorkers' Comp$56$67850%11
Healthcare & MedicalGeneral Liability$209$2,51270%24
Healthcare & MedicalProfessional Liability$43$51524%8
Healthcare & MedicalCommercial Auto$133$1,59818%10
Healthcare & MedicalCyber Insurance$116$1,395-40%24
Healthcare & MedicalCommercial Property$277$3,323-122%23
Hospitality, Travel & TourismWorkers' Comp$48$57857%10
Hospitality, Travel & TourismGeneral Liability$107$1,282-13%19
Hospitality, Travel & TourismProfessional Liability$52$6228%12
Hospitality, Travel & TourismCommercial Auto$192$2,298-17%22
Hospitality, Travel & TourismCyber Insurance$107$1,283-28%22
Hospitality, Travel & TourismCommercial Property$209$2,508-67%21
ManufacturingGeneral Liability$69$833-43%10
ManufacturingCommercial Auto$189$2,266-16%21
ManufacturingCyber Insurance$72$86214%8
ManufacturingCommercial Property$471$5,656-278%24
ManufacturingWorkers' Comp$160$1,926-42%21
Marketing & CommunicationsWorkers' Comp$17$20985%3
Marketing & CommunicationsGeneral Liability$32$386-74%2
Marketing & CommunicationsProfessional Liability$39$46831%6
Marketing & CommunicationsCommercial Auto$89$1,06845%1
Marketing & CommunicationsCyber Insurance$96$1,146-15%19
Marketing & CommunicationsCommercial Property$13$16089%3
Nonprofit & AssociationsWorkers' Comp$66$79541%13
Nonprofit & AssociationsGeneral Liability$57$682-54%9
Nonprofit & AssociationsProfessional Liability$38$45233%5
Nonprofit & AssociationsCommercial Auto$158$1,8973%13
Nonprofit & AssociationsCyber Insurance$57$67932%3
Nonprofit & AssociationsCommercial Property$43$52165%12
Other Professional ServicesWorkers' Comp$25$30478%6
Other Professional ServicesGeneral Liability$77$919-38%13
Other Professional ServicesProfessional Liability$47$56916%9
Other Professional ServicesCommercial Auto$214$2,570-31%24
Other Professional ServicesCyber Insurance$97$1,166-17%20
Other Professional ServicesCommercial Property$51$60859%13
Pet Care ServicesWorkers' Comp$73$87236%14
Pet Care ServicesGeneral Liability$76$908-38%11
Pet Care ServicesProfessional Liability$31$37744%3
Pet Care ServicesCommercial Auto$143$1,71512%11
Pet Care ServicesCyber Insurance$77$9228%14
Pet Care ServicesCommercial Property$30$36276%9
Real Estate & Property ServicesWorkers' Comp$24$29278%5
Real Estate & Property ServicesGeneral Liability$48$578-61%8
Real Estate & Property ServicesProfessional Liability$73$874-29%13
Real Estate & Property ServicesCommercial Auto$128$1,54021%9
Real Estate & Property ServicesCyber Insurance$76$9148%13
Real Estate & Property ServicesCommercial Property$12$14790%1
Recreation & SportsWorkers' Comp$125$1,497-11%19
Recreation & SportsCommercial Auto$159$1,9112%15
Recreation & SportsCyber Insurance$56$67532%2
Recreation & SportsGeneral Liability$92$1,104-25%15
Recreation & SportsProfessional Liability$51$60810%10
Recreation & SportsCommercial Property$56$67155%16
Repair & MaintenanceWorkers' Comp$83$99826%17
Repair & MaintenanceGeneral Liability$76$908-38%12
Repair & MaintenanceCommercial Auto$176$2,115-8%17
Repair & MaintenanceCyber Insurance$79$9525%15
Repair & MaintenanceCommercial Property$52$63058%15
Retail & Product RentalWorkers' Comp$61$72646%12
Retail & Product RentalGeneral Liability$110$1,320-10%21
Retail & Product RentalCommercial Auto$164$1,969-1%16
Retail & Product RentalCyber Insurance$89$1,073-7%18
Retail & Product RentalCommercial Property$221$2,658-77%22
Tech/ITWorkers' Comp$47$56258%9
Tech/ITGeneral Liability$27$328-78%1
Tech/ITProfessional Liability$74$888-31%14
Tech/ITCommercial Auto$123$1,47825%6
Tech/ITCyber Insurance$157$1,882-88%25
Tech/ITCommercial Property$34$40773%11
Transportation & LogisticsGeneral Liability$83$999-32%14
Transportation & LogisticsCommercial Auto$349$4,188-114%25
Transportation & LogisticsCyber Insurance$60$72428%4
Transportation & LogisticsCommercial Property$66$79647%17
Transportation & LogisticsWorkers' Comp$343$4,110-204%25
Wholesale & DistributionWorkers' Comp$204$2,449-81%23
Wholesale & DistributionGeneral Liability$107$1,285-13%20
Wholesale & DistributionCommercial Auto$177$2,126-9%18
Wholesale & DistributionCyber Insurance$68$81319%6
Wholesale & DistributionCommercial Property$480$5,756-284%25

For small business insurance cost guides specific to your industry, check out the links below.

Average Small Business Insurance Cost By Coverage Type and Business Size

Business size has an upward effect on premiums across all coverage types, but the rate of increase varies dramatically depending on the commercial insurance line. Particularly, general liability insurance rates vary the most, ranging from $65/mo for a sole proprietor to a staggering $2,298/mo for a 20-to-49-person business, a spread that covers 98% of the entire premium distribution across all six coverage types combined ($26/mo to $2,298/mo). Cyber insurance is the only business insurance type that increases exponentially as businesses grow, with the smallest percent increase from 0 to 1 to 4 employees being 24% and the largest being from 10 to 19 employees to 20 to 49 at 58%.

For other coverages like professional liability and commercial property, rates consistently increase by about $6/mo to $11/mo and $75/mo to $109/mo respectively. Workers' comp and commercial auto discounts are applied to baseline per employee/vehicle rates as more are added to a policy, often stalling at the highest discount around a count of 50. Though base workers' comp and commercial auto rates will vary depending on employee classification and vehicle type respectively.

Filter the table below to understand what business insurance costs for your employee count band by coverage type.

Data filtered by:
Select
0General Liability$65$784
0Commercial Property$26$316
0Cyber Insurance$67$799
0Professional Liability$38$452
1 to 4General Liability$123$1,474
1 to 4Workers' Comp$113$1,354
1 to 4Commercial Property$125$1,498
1 to 4Cyber Insurance$83$999
1 to 4Professional Liability$56$675
5 to 9General Liability$330$3,959
5 to 9Workers' Comp$102$1,225
5 to 9Commercial Property$225$2,703
5 to 9Cyber Insurance$121$1,449
5 to 9Professional Liability$68$810
10 to 19General Liability$872$10,461
10 to 19Workers' Comp$95$1,137
10 to 19Commercial Property$300$3,598
10 to 19Cyber Insurance$179$2,148
10 to 19Professional Liability$82$979
20 to 49General Liability$2,298$27,581
20 to 49Workers' Comp$89$1,064
20 to 49Commercial Property$409$4,905
20 to 49Cyber Insurance$283$3,398
20 to 49Professional Liability$98$1,181

Average Small Business Insurance Cost By Coverage Type and State

State-level variation in small business insurance costs is driven primarily by coverage type. For liability-focused coverages like general liability, professional liability and cyber insurance, the state-level spread ranges from $50 to $190 per month. This widens for workers' comp, commercial auto and commercial property, where the range is $63/mo to $312/mo due to state-specific requirements, the coverage of physical assets, and the wider range of vehicle accident risks across the country.

When looking closer at the state level, North Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska and Wyoming most frequently appear as the cheapest states for commercial insurance. On the other side of the distribution, New Jersey, California, Washington D.C. and New York consistently rank as the most expensive, with average affordability ranks of 46 or higher. 

Filter the table below to see where your state falls across each coverage type. Note that workers' comp rates presented are per-employee rates and commercial auto is for a single vehicle.

Data filtered by:
Select
North DakotaProfessional Liability$50$60011%1
MaineProfessional Liability$51$60910%2
North CarolinaProfessional Liability$51$6149%3
WyomingProfessional Liability$52$6277%4
South DakotaProfessional Liability$53$6326%5
KentuckyProfessional Liability$53$6336%6
NebraskaProfessional Liability$53$6346%7
VirginiaProfessional Liability$53$6356%8
OklahomaProfessional Liability$53$6376%9
IowaProfessional Liability$53$6385%10
IdahoProfessional Liability$53$6385%11
ArkansasProfessional Liability$53$6395%12
OhioProfessional Liability$53$6415%13
UtahProfessional Liability$53$6415%14
VermontProfessional Liability$54$6435%15
KansasProfessional Liability$54$6445%16
AlaskaProfessional Liability$54$6455%17
MinnesotaProfessional Liability$54$6454%18
MichiganProfessional Liability$54$6484%19
OregonProfessional Liability$54$6494%20
IndianaProfessional Liability$54$6523%21
AlabamaProfessional Liability$54$6533%22
MontanaProfessional Liability$55$6543%23
ArizonaProfessional Liability$55$6573%24
TennesseeProfessional Liability$55$6573%25
WisconsinProfessional Liability$55$6592%26
New HampshireProfessional Liability$55$6602%27
MarylandProfessional Liability$55$6622%28
MissouriProfessional Liability$55$6622%29
New MexicoProfessional Liability$56$6681%30
ColoradoProfessional Liability$56$6730%31
MississippiProfessional Liability$57$683-1%32
South CarolinaProfessional Liability$57$684-1%33
West VirginiaProfessional Liability$57$684-1%34
TexasProfessional Liability$58$692-3%35
GeorgiaProfessional Liability$58$693-3%36
DelawareProfessional Liability$59$703-4%37
HawaiiProfessional Liability$59$704-4%38
MassachusettsProfessional Liability$59$708-5%39
Rhode IslandProfessional Liability$60$718-6%40
ConnecticutProfessional Liability$60$722-7%41
FloridaProfessional Liability$61$731-8%42
IllinoisProfessional Liability$61$734-9%43
NevadaProfessional Liability$61$737-9%44
WashingtonProfessional Liability$61$737-9%45
LouisianaProfessional Liability$62$741-10%46
PennsylvaniaProfessional Liability$63$754-12%47
New JerseyProfessional Liability$63$757-12%48
CaliforniaProfessional Liability$63$760-13%49
IndianaWorkers' Comp$63$76044%1
Washington D.C.Professional Liability$64$766-14%50
ArkansasWorkers' Comp$65$77743%2
New YorkProfessional Liability$65$777-15%51
South DakotaWorkers' Comp$65$78042%3
IowaWorkers' Comp$68$81840%4
IdahoWorkers' Comp$71$84637%5
AlaskaCyber Insurance$71$84915%2
WyomingCyber Insurance$71$84915%1
North DakotaCyber Insurance$71$84915%3
MontanaCyber Insurance$71$84915%4
MississippiWorkers' Comp$71$85637%6
IdahoCyber Insurance$72$86813%5
South DakotaCyber Insurance$72$86813%6
West VirginiaCyber Insurance$72$86813%7
UtahWorkers' Comp$73$87635%7
NebraskaWorkers' Comp$73$88135%8
AlabamaWorkers' Comp$74$88235%9
KansasWorkers' Comp$74$88734%10
NebraskaCyber Insurance$75$89710%8
VermontCyber Insurance$75$89710%9
IowaCyber Insurance$75$89710%10
New HampshireCyber Insurance$75$89710%11
HawaiiCyber Insurance$75$89710%14
MaineCyber Insurance$75$89710%12
Rhode IslandCyber Insurance$75$89710%13
TexasWorkers' Comp$76$91433%11
ArkansasCyber Insurance$76$9178%15
MississippiCyber Insurance$76$9178%16
New MexicoCyber Insurance$76$9178%17
KentuckyWorkers' Comp$79$94430%12
OklahomaCyber Insurance$79$9465%18
KansasCyber Insurance$79$9465%19
UtahCyber Insurance$79$9465%20
PennsylvaniaCommercial Auto$79$94752%1
KentuckyCyber Insurance$80$9653%22
LouisianaCyber Insurance$80$9653%21
South CarolinaCyber Insurance$80$9653%23
AlabamaCyber Insurance$80$9653%24
TennesseeWorkers' Comp$81$96928%13
New MexicoWorkers' Comp$83$99327%14
IndianaCyber Insurance$83$9941%25
MissouriCyber Insurance$83$9941%27
WisconsinCyber Insurance$83$9941%26
TennesseeCyber Insurance$83$9941%28
ArizonaCyber Insurance$85$1,013-2%29
MinnesotaCyber Insurance$85$1,013-2%30
OhioCyber Insurance$85$1,013-2%31
MichiganCyber Insurance$85$1,013-2%32
VirginiaWorkers' Comp$85$1,01525%15
HawaiiCommercial Auto$86$1,02947%2
West VirginiaGeneral Liability$87$1,041-29%1
OregonCyber Insurance$87$1,042-4%34
PennsylvaniaCyber Insurance$87$1,042-4%33
North CarolinaCyber Insurance$87$1,042-4%35
North CarolinaWorkers' Comp$88$1,06122%16
GeorgiaCyber Insurance$88$1,061-6%36
MississippiGeneral Liability$89$1,074-27%2
ArizonaWorkers' Comp$90$1,07920%17
FloridaCyber Insurance$90$1,080-8%37
TexasCyber Insurance$90$1,081-8%38
ColoradoCyber Insurance$90$1,081-8%39
South DakotaGeneral Liability$91$1,088-26%3
MissouriWorkers' Comp$91$1,08820%18
VermontCommercial Auto$92$1,09844%3
DelawareCyber Insurance$92$1,109-11%40
VirginiaCyber Insurance$92$1,109-11%42
WashingtonCyber Insurance$92$1,109-11%41
NevadaCyber Insurance$92$1,110-11%43
OklahomaWorkers' Comp$94$1,12917%19
IowaGeneral Liability$95$1,135-23%4
MontanaWorkers' Comp$95$1,13616%20
MarylandCyber Insurance$95$1,138-14%44
ConnecticutCyber Insurance$95$1,139-14%45
IllinoisCyber Insurance$95$1,139-14%46
MontanaGeneral Liability$95$1,139-23%5
MassachusettsCyber Insurance$95$1,139-14%47
WisconsinWorkers' Comp$95$1,14515%21
South CarolinaGeneral Liability$96$1,154-22%6
North DakotaGeneral Liability$96$1,156-22%7
New JerseyCyber Insurance$96$1,158-16%48
IdahoGeneral Liability$97$1,166-21%8
NevadaWorkers' Comp$97$1,16914%22
IowaCommercial Auto$97$1,16940%4
CaliforniaCyber Insurance$98$1,177-18%49
West VirginiaWorkers' Comp$98$1,17913%23
ArkansasGeneral Liability$99$1,185-20%9
MaineWorkers' Comp$99$1,19212%24
GeorgiaWorkers' Comp$99$1,19312%25
AlabamaGeneral Liability$100$1,198-19%10
OklahomaGeneral Liability$100$1,201-19%11
New YorkCyber Insurance$101$1,206-21%50
KansasGeneral Liability$102$1,222-17%12
KentuckyGeneral Liability$102$1,222-17%13
South CarolinaWorkers' Comp$102$1,22410%26
New MexicoGeneral Liability$102$1,226-17%14
Washington D.C.Cyber Insurance$103$1,235-24%51
FloridaWorkers' Comp$103$1,2379%27
OregonWorkers' Comp$104$1,2478%28
NebraskaGeneral Liability$105$1,257-15%15
MissouriGeneral Liability$105$1,258-15%16
IdahoCommercial Auto$106$1,26635%5
LouisianaGeneral Liability$106$1,267-14%17
LouisianaWorkers' Comp$106$1,2686%29
WyomingGeneral Liability$106$1,269-14%18
IndianaGeneral Liability$106$1,272-14%19
VermontWorkers' Comp$107$1,2786%30
WisconsinGeneral Liability$108$1,297-12%20
North DakotaCommercial Property$109$1,30913%1
UtahGeneral Liability$110$1,319-11%21
South DakotaCommercial Property$110$1,32012%2
OhioGeneral Liability$110$1,322-10%22
NebraskaCommercial Property$110$1,32412%3
IowaCommercial Property$111$1,33311%4
KansasCommercial Property$111$1,33511%5
MinnesotaWorkers' Comp$112$1,3381%31
North CarolinaGeneral Liability$112$1,341-9%23
MaineGeneral Liability$112$1,344-9%24
TennesseeGeneral Liability$112$1,346-9%25
ArkansasCommercial Property$112$1,35010%6
ColoradoWorkers' Comp$113$1,3500%32
West VirginiaCommercial Property$113$1,35110%7
WyomingCommercial Property$113$1,35310%8
MissouriCommercial Property$114$1,3639%9
MississippiCommercial Property$114$1,3639%10
OklahomaCommercial Property$114$1,3718%11
MichiganWorkers' Comp$115$1,378-2%33
KentuckyCommercial Property$115$1,3788%12
IndianaCommercial Property$115$1,3798%13
MichiganGeneral Liability$115$1,381-6%26
New HampshireCommercial Auto$115$1,38129%6
MontanaCommercial Property$115$1,3838%14
New HampshireWorkers' Comp$116$1,390-3%34
New MexicoCommercial Property$116$1,3937%15
AlabamaCommercial Property$116$1,3947%16
WisconsinCommercial Property$117$1,4076%17
TennesseeCommercial Property$119$1,4225%18
IdahoCommercial Property$119$1,4225%19
OhioCommercial Property$119$1,4235%20
MichiganCommercial Property$119$1,4245%21
WisconsinCommercial Auto$119$1,42727%7
MaineCommercial Property$119$1,4314%22
MarylandWorkers' Comp$119$1,433-6%35
VermontCommercial Property$120$1,4414%23
Rhode IslandWorkers' Comp$121$1,449-7%36
GeorgiaGeneral Liability$121$1,451-2%27
TexasGeneral Liability$122$1,462-1%28
VermontGeneral Liability$122$1,465-1%29
South CarolinaCommercial Property$122$1,4652%24
UtahCommercial Property$122$1,4662%25
MinnesotaCommercial Property$122$1,4672%26

If you want more dedicated small business insurance cost information for your state, we've provided focused articles below for your review.

How to Lower Small Business Insurance Costs

The following strategies represent the most effective ways to reduce your premiums both immediately and over time, ordered from fastest and most effective to longer-term.

  1. 1

    Compare quotes apples to apples

    Comparing quotes across insurers can save you over 30% depending on your business profile and coverage type, but only if you're comparing equivalent policies. Insurers routinely structure quotes with different coverage limits, deductibles and exclusions, making cheaper quotes appear more attractive than they are. To compare accurately, ensure each quote reflects the same coverage limits, the same deductible levels and the same policy structure before evaluating price. Using an independent broker or a comparison platform that standardizes inputs is the most reliable way to ensure you're making a true cost comparison.

  2. 2

    Bundle policies with the same insurer

    Purchasing multiple policies from the same insurer can reduce your total premium by up to 20%, with the discount applied against the combined policy value. The most common and accessible bundle for small businesses is a Business Owner's Policy (BOP), which combines general liability and commercial property coverage into a single policy at a reduced rate. Adding additional lines like workers' comp or commercial auto to the same insurer may yield further discounts depending on the provider.

  3. 3

    Pay annually instead of monthly

    Paying your premium annually rather than monthly can save up to 13% on your total cost, similar in structure to bundling discounts and applied against the total policy value. Not all insurers advertise this option prominently, so it is worth asking for explicitly when getting a quote. For businesses with predictable cash flow this is one of the simplest and most immediate savings available.

  4. 4

    Implement and document risk reduction strategies

    Insurers price risk, and businesses that can demonstrate active efforts to reduce their exposure are often rewarded with lower premiums at renewal. Relevant strategies include implementing workplace safety programs, establishing formal data security protocols for cyber coverage, maintaining clean vehicle records for commercial auto, and documenting incident response procedures. The key is not just implementing these measures but being able to present them to your insurer formally, as undocumented risk reduction carries little weight in the underwriting process.

  5. 5

    Review your business insurance policy needs annually

    Business insurance coverage type and amount needs change as your business grows and evolves. Reviewing your policies annually ensures you are not overpaying for coverage limits that exceed your current risk profile or underinsured in areas where your exposure has grown. Common examples include businesses that have downsized still paying premiums based on higher employee counts, or businesses that have expanded into new services without updating their professional liability limits.

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YOU CAN NEGOTIATE SMALL BUSINESS INSURANCE PREMIUMS

Business insurance premiums are negotiable, particularly at renewal. Insurers value long-term customers and will often match or beat a competing quote rather than lose an established account. Your negotiating position strengthens over time with a clean claims history and documented risk reduction, so coming to renewal with a competing quote in hand is the single most effective tactic. Independent brokers are particularly useful here as they can advocate across multiple carriers simultaneously.

Cost of Business Insurance: Bottom Line

Small business insurance costs are driven primarily by your industry and employee count, with your state playing a smaller role than most expect. For most small businesses general liability and workers' comp are the essential starting point, with additional coverage determined by whether you use vehicles, hold physical assets or handle sensitive client data. The biggest remaining variable is who you buy from and rates for identical profiles can vary by over 30% across insurers, making provider comparison the most impactful next step.

Average Small Business Insurance Cost: Next Steps

We recommend finding providers that specialize in your industry and offer bundling options for the coverage types you need. Comparing at least three quotes for the same coverage structure will give you a reliable price range to negotiate from.

Dedicated resources:

I want to compare providers by coverage type

I want to understand my coverage options before comparing providers

I want to confirm how much coverage I need

I want to confirm I have all required coverage

Average Small Business Insurance Cost: Quick Answers

Below we've answered the most common questions about small business insurance costs:

How much does small business insurance cost?

What affects small business insurance rates?

Can I lower small business insurance costs?

What small business insurance do I actually need?

Our Small Business Insurance Cost Methodology

Our study spanned well over 6 million datapoints across the six most commonly needed coverage types, 400+ industries, all states (including Washington D.C.), employee counts spanning 95% of small businesses and 16 vehicle types for commercial auto coverage. If you want to examine our methodology in detail, we've broken down our process below for transparency before you read on.

To estimate average small business insurance costs, we analyzed quote data from major U.S. commercial insurance providers and modeled standardized premium estimates across company profiles that represent the vast majority of the market (around 95%). These modeled results are designed to provide a consistent national benchmark and show how premiums vary by key baseline factors including business size, profession type, location and vehicle type (for auto coverage).

Dataset Scope and Assumptions

Our cost modeling uses standardized inputs for consistent comparisons across businesses.

  • Total estimates modeled: just over 6 million standardized pricing estimates
  • Providers analyzed: 10 major insurance providers
  • Professions covered: 408 industry categories
  • Geography: all U.S. states (including Washington, D.C.)
  • Employee count bands: solo practitioners, one to four, five to nine, 10 to 19, and 20 to 49 employees
  • Vehicle types studied: Sedans, SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, taxis, limousines, tractors, food trucks, semi-trucks (non-HAZMAT and HAZMAT), tanker trucks (non-HAZMAT and HAZMAT), buses, box trucks, dump trucks, flatbed trucks
  • Policies studied: General liability, workers' comp, professional liability, commercial auto, commercial property and cyber insurance
    • General liability baseline: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate
    • Workers' Comp: State required coverage
    • Professional liability: $1 million per claim and $1 million aggregate
    • Commercial auto: Minimum coverage
    • Commercial property: Personal property coverage limits personalized to industry, business sizes and state.
    • Cyber insurance: $1 million per occurrence and $1 million aggregate

We also incorporated modeled average revenue, payroll, and claims history personalized across all combinations of states, profession type, and employee counts to improve the accuracy of pricing. To model these assumptions against our cost factors, we used data from these sources:

  • CBP (for employee size class density by state + NAICS)
  • QCEW (for wage/payroll intensity by profession + geography)
  • Economic Census / SUSB (for receipts/output intensity by profession)
  • Calibrated against:
    • Private comp databases
    • IRS SOI totals

How We Calculated Average Small Business Insurance Costs

Our published averages represent modeled premiums for standardized business profiles and were aggregated in two ways:

  • National benchmark average: The national average cost reflects the modeled premium for a standardized one to four-employee business across all professions and states included in our dataset for a standard professional liability policy.
  • Segment averages: To show how costs vary, we calculated average modeled premiums for our national base profile and isolated for variables, including:
    • Employee count (business size ranges)
    • Profession / industry categories
    • Vehicle types (for commercial auto
    • States (including Washington, D.C.)

Segment averages were produced by aggregating modeled pricing trends across the full dataset so readers can compare how premiums shift across profession types and regions.

About Connor Bolton

Connor Bolton headshot

Connor Bolton is Senior SEO and Content Manager at MoneyGeek, where he leads the business and pet insurance editorial teams. As editorial lead for both verticals, Connor sets the research framework, data standards, and content structure that his writers execute, directly authoring in-depth guides himself and reviewing all team content for accuracy and practical value before it goes live. With over four years evaluating insurance products across personal, commercial, and specialty lines, he brings cross-vertical knowledge to every guide the team produces.

Connor architected MoneyGeek's insurance research infrastructure across all major verticals including auto, home, renters, life, health, business, and pet, building systems for pricing analysis, provider-level research, customer experience evaluation, and coverage analysis with AI support. The infrastructure includes over 6 million data points for business insurance across 408 industry areas, all 50 states, and 16 vehicle types, and over 5 million pet insurance profiles across 18 major providers and hundreds of breed and age combinations. Connor's insurance cost research and his team's work has been cited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, CBS News, Forbes and LegalZoom.

Beyond the data, Connor stays connected to how the market actually operates, drawing on direct conversations with underwriters and carrier liaisons at Ethos, The Hartford, NEXT Insurance, Nationwide, and State Farm, and monitoring business and pet owner communities including Reddit, to inform how he interprets findings and frames guidance for real buyers.

He is the direct editorial contact for methodology questions at connor@moneygeek.com and can be found on LinkedIn.

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