Business Insurance

Business insurance is an umbrella type of insurance that covers common financial risks a company will come across. Rather than an actual policy you can buy it is a category of insurance coverage.

The most common types of business insurance include the following:

• General Liability Insurance: Protects you from third-party bodily injury and property damage. It is often bundled as part of a BOP or business owners policy which includes this coverage type, commercial property and business interruption insurance.
• Workers' Comp Insurance: This type of coverage covers you if an employee gets injured while working.
• Professional Liability Insurance: If a client relies on your personal expertise and advice, this covers you for claims of negligence, mistakes and failure to deliver on agreed upon services. It also goes by other synonymous names in different contexts like professional indemnity insurance (international term) and errors and omissions insurance (select industries like tech, finance, media/marketing).
• Commercial Auto Insurance: Functions similar to personal policies but covers you for vehicle-related liabilities and property damage only if it is during commercial operations.
• Commercial Property Insurance: Covers personal property damage at commercial areas you own or rent and theft of your belongings. Often includes business interruption coverage which reimburses you for income losses from downtime from commercial property policy related damages.
• Cyber Insurance: This type of coverage protects your company from liabilities arising from cyber-attacks both for your company's personal damages and any customers affected.

If you'd like to dig into what business insurance covers for each of these types in more detail, we've left resources below.

You will need business insurance since some form if coverage is required by state law and/or client contracts. Even if you don't have any business insurance policies required by statutes or agreements to get coverage, it is a smart investment to protect you from common risks specific to your industry and ensure you avoid financial losses you can't afford.

We've broken down situational needs by coverage type at a high level below:

• General Liability: If customers, vendors or the public interact with your business, you need this. Contracts also typically require this coverage type
• Workers’ Comp: If you have employees or are a sub-contractor, this is typically required by law or contracts.
• Professional Liability: If clients rely on your expertise or advice frequently, you'll need to get this coverage.
• Commercial Auto: If you use vehicles for business operations, you are required by law to have this
• Commercial Property: If you own, lease or store equipment in a business space, your lender or state law will often require commercial property insurance.
• Cyber Insurance: If you collect, store or process customer data in large quantities and frequently, this is essential to protect you and your customers.

However, this is only surface level guidance. To ensure you have what you're required to get and what protects your business we recommend narrowing state law with our state guides and get industry level recommendations to cover your realistic financial risks.

See what coverage typically applies to your type of business and how much you may need. Select the option that best reflects your primary type of work or main source of revenue.

Insurance requirements vary by state. Check legal requirements and typical coverage needs in your location.

How much business insurance you need is not a one size fits all answer, and your actual needs will depend on your required coverages, your operational structure, industry, company size and financial situation. Use your requirements as a starting point and then categorize what risks actually will be most likely to affect your business and match them to the right coverage type.

With this in mind, we've given advice by coverage type that you can apply situationally to what fits your business:

If you want to personalize your coverages further, we've provided dedicated guides by coverage type below.

Most small companies pay between $60 and $110 per month per policy, with an overall business insurance cost of about $111 per month depending on your coverage, industry and size. If you bundle common coverages into a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP), costs average around $221 per month, with additional policies like workers’ comp or commercial auto increasing that total.

However, the costs for you will vary heavily depending on your industry, business size and desired coverage type. So, we recommend using our small business insurance calculator to get a personalized estimate based on your business and the factors that matter most:

Below we've broken down a simple step-by-step process for buying business insurance and getting the best deal.

Once you understand your coverage needs, expected costs and what applies to your business, the next step is to find a provider that fits your situation.