What kind of insurance do i need for my business

Compare Quotes

Compare Quotes

When you’re buying small business insurance, your coverage decisions will depend on your business’s type and size. Here are common coverage types.

• General liability insurance gives a business protection against liability claims such as bodily injury and property damage to others.
• Commercial property insurance covers the physical property of your small business, such as fire damage or theft.
• Workers compensation insurance offers coverage for when an employee becomes ill or injured because of their job. It’s required in most states, but rules on who has to be covered vary.
• Commercial auto insurance covers the vehicles you use for business purposes. A personal auto insurance policy generally doesn’t extend to business use of a vehicle.
• Errors & omissions (E&O) will pay for liability costs if a customer or client accuses you of making a mistake in your professional services.
• Inland marine insurance protects business property that’s being transported over land.
• Cyber liability insurance can pay for recovery costs if your computer system and data gets hacked.

Here’s a closer look at top coverage types for small businesses.

General liability insurance pays for legal costs such as hiring an attorney and any judgments against you and your business. General liability insurance includes coverage for damage to reputation such as slander or libel and copyright infringement.

Liability insurance pays others, not your own business. It’s also known as business liability insurance.

Commercial property insurance covers a number of business items including computers and workstations, desks and chairs, business records, business inventory and supplies. Commercial property insurance can also cover a business’s office and business building.

Commercial property insurance is also called business property insurance.

Workers compensation insurance offers several benefits to employees who are sick or injured because of their jobs. This includes medical care, physical therapy and compensation for lost wages. Death benefits for an employee’s family are available if an employee passes away from a work-related illness or injury.

Businesses buy workers comp insurance for employees and this insurance is required in most states.

Compare Free Quotes From Top Insurers at SimplyBusiness. Get a Policy in Under 10 Minutes.

If you are a small business owner, you may wish to consider a business owners policy (BOP). A BOP includes:

• General liability insurance
• Commercial property insurance
• Business interruption insurance, which helps you recover lost business income if your business is unable to open because of a problem such as a fire

A BOP is less expensive than buying separate insurance policies for this same coverage. So consider whether a BOP is right for you.

A commercial auto insurance policy is the right way to cover vehicles that you use for business, whether it’s a company car or a commercial truck or van.

If you get into an accident while driving the vehicle for business, your personal insurance policy won’t cover the claim.

There are instances where small business insurance doesn’t offer coverage, such as:

• Flood damage to your business. You would need to have a separate commercial flood policy for flood coverage
• Fraudulent and intentional acts
• Wrongful termination, unless you have an employment practices liability policy

We ranked business insurance companies based on complaint data for commercial liability and commercial property insurance in 2020. Complaint data is based on complaints upheld by state insurance departments in every state and collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Small business insurance gives your business financial protection when there are liability claims such as property damage or bodily injury, or from accusations that you made errors and omissions in your professional services.

The physical property of a business can be covered as well, such as inventory. And with hacking on the rise, cyber liability insurance is important to pay for the recovery costs if your business computer network gets attacked by thieves.

The vast majority of small businesses would suffer financially if they were sued or experienced a devastating loss, such as losing inventory in a fire. For those businesses, commercial insurance is a must.

Without small business insurance, you’d have to pay for the legal costs of lawsuits and find a way to pay for damage to your business property. General liability insurance and commercial property insurance are good places to start. Commercial auto is important if you have cars, trucks or vans that you use for business.

And workers compensation insurance is required in most states.

A business owners policy (BOP) is an affordable way to get essential coverage for a small business. General liability insurance, commercial property insurance and business interruption insurance are all included in a BOP.