Average Small Business Insurance Cost (2026 Report)

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).

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Our data is only as useful as it applies to your business, and we know that industry averages rarely tell the full story for any individual business. So, to give you more personalized estimates, we've provided a small business insurance cost calculator below that allows you to get coverage type level pricing based on your industry, employee count and vehicle type (if commercial auto).

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.

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:

• Best Small Business Insurance Companies
• Cheapest Small Business Insurance Companies

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

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.