Cheap Business Insurance Quotes Online From $5

Cheap Business Insurance Quotes: Compare Online & Save in a Few Simple Steps

Building a business from scratch isn’t easy. On average, it takes 5 - 8 years for a startup to become profitable. Making a business successful takes a lot of time, skill, and effort. With that said, those who have succeeded in establishing their business, no matter how small, have grasped a very significant achievement in life.

But here’s a thing, imagine that flames engulfed a new coffee shop completely. Of course, there’s nothing to do but start from scratch. Starting from the bottom up after successfully building a business isn’t what many would want to do.

But aside from fires, lawsuits from customer personal injuries and commercial vehicle accidents can cause a business to get back to square one. Why? Each time any of these happen, a business might pay $3,329 or more as compensation according to the Institute of Legal Reform.

If risks businesses face are bullets, then enterprise insurance is the vest that protects them from possible harm. Getting insured doesn’t necessarily mean that a business will survive but it will ensure that there’s a good chance of surviving when trouble comes. In this article, we’ll show how much business insurance is on average, where to get low-cost business insurance, and many more!

Cheap Business Insurance Companies: Comparison

It’s always best to research before contacting any carrier, insurance broker, or insurance agent. There are many carriers that attract customers by claiming to offer cheap commercial insurance and easy application and claims processing. However, upon getting payment, they’ll deny any claim a customer files.

Below are the cheapest business insurance companies for 2021 of all sizes, both cheap small business insurance companies, and insurers that cover larger enterprises and even international corporations. We based our research on factors like affordable business insurance rates, customer satisfaction ratings, features, user-friendliness, how comprehensive is the coverage, how tailored it is to your business’s needs, the financial strength of the insurer, and more.

Who Has The Cheapest Business Insurance?

Only work with the best cheap business insurance companies. Get quotes from carriers with excellent customer reviews, AM Best rating, and BBB rating. Speaking of getting quotes from the best cheap commercial insurance companies, we suggest the ones in the table below:

* Costs may vary depending on the size of yourbusiness, its sector, location and other factors.

As you can see, the cheapest business liability insurance that we have found is Thimble , a very affordable general liability insurance for small businesses, with super affordable small business insurance online policies on-demand starting from as low as $5, great flexibility and excellent online experience. It is very easy to get instant low-cost small business insurance quotes online with them as well. However, their average rate per month is $30, and you may find even cheaper business insurance rates than that on a monthly basis with other providers.

The cheapest small business insurance on average per month that we've found on the research is $21 per month from both USAA and State Farm. Rates always vary and can get lower or higher depending on the specific business, its size, the industry, and many other factors. So if you are looking for cheap insurance for business, the best tip we can give you is to compare business insurance quotes online through CoverWallet to find the cheapest business insurance for your specific business risks and needs. With an average general liability insurance cost of $22 per month on their quoting engine, you might find out that you'll pay even lower rates in some cases!

Cheapest Business Insurance Companies Review

CoverWallet Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by CoverWallet?

• Finds the companies with the most competitive prices through its online business insurance quote comparison platform

• Has a live chat system so that customers can easily find help from insurance agents

• Online certificate of insurance

• Fast and easy to use

• Affiliated with the top carriers in the United States

• An AON company

• Very high customer satisfaction reviews and ratings

• Provides business insurance quotes with a variety of coverage options and numerous industries covered

• Personal finance advisor

• Our top choice

Why Take CoverWallet with a Grain of Salt?

• Not an insurance company but an insurance broker with all the resources to help businesses find the best cheap business insurance quotes online

CoverWallet isn’t an insurance company. But it is legit nonetheless. CoverWallet takes pride in providing competitive digital insurance quote comparison and online policy management solutions to businesses across the U.S. In 2020, it was acquired by Aon. CoverWallet’s best value lies in its online quote comparison platform, which makes looking for cheap insurance for small business online extremely easy such as:

• General liability

• Workers comp

• Business owners policy

• Commercial property

• Professional liability

• Commercial auto

• Umbrella

• Directors and officers

• Employment practices liability

• Fiduciary liability

• Cyber liability

• Inland marine

• Product liability

• Special events

• Liquor liability

Those working with CoverWallet enjoy an easy online insurance application process plus the support of online insurance agents. In addition, through MyCoverWallet, customers can easily pay, download proof of insurance, access policy documents, quickly purchase optional coverages, and find the contact info of a carrier to make a claim.

Read More: CoverWallet Reviews

Chubb Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Chubb?

• Numerous specialized insurance for different business type, size, products sold, and operations

• Brings customers to knowledgeable agents

• Offers insurance solutions for multinational businesses

• Customers can file a claim anytime and anywhere

• High customer ratings: Chubb barely have any customer complaints

• 90% of the businesses renew their policies with Chubb

• Covers businesses of all sizes

• Provides an excellent claims experience

• One of the broadest coverages available in the market, making sure that you won't be left uncovered while thinking you are

Why Take Chubb with a Grain of Salt?

• Some customers reported Chubb tried to mislead them with their company’s group insurance plans

• Online option is less friendly: only general liability, cyber insurance, BOP, and professional liability are available online for purchase

Chubb started as a family-run insurance company in Switzerland for merchants. But now, Chubb is one of the most established carriers having $31,000 employees and a revenue of $35.9 million as of 2020. Chubb offers commercial insurance solutions. Its business insurance caters to the needs of small, medium, and large businesses in 28 industries. Chubb’s insurance programs are numerous and can be generalized into the following categories:

• Accident and health insurance

• Commercial general liability

• Commercial package

• Cyber insurance

• Environmental insurance

• Excess and surplus insurance

• Global casualty insurance

• International insurance solutions for thriving businesses

• Marine cargo insurance

• Management liability insurance

• Medical liability insurance

• Product recall insurance

• Property insurance

• Small business insurance

Chubb is a wonderful option for small, medium, and large businesses as it has numerous specialized policies that provide excellent protection depending on the type of products sold and the nature of business operations. In terms of customer service, Chubb excels by allowing customers to find an agent or pay for premiums through the Chubb website. What’s more? The company provides insurance for international businesses in 54 countries.

Thimble Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Thimble?

• Offers the coverages small businesses absolutely need

• Simple and fast insurance application

• Thimble offers instant flexible short-term cheap small business general liability insurance policies that provide coverage for hours, days, or weeks.

• Thimble offers small business general liability insurance policies from $5 which makes it a very affordable business insurance online option

• Provides a great online experience

Why Take Thimble with a Grain of Salt?

• Insurance products Thimble provides might not efficiently cover the risks specialty businesses have

• While covering over 100 sectors, Thimble mainly covers home-based tech/IT businesses so costs for other sectors might be higher

The majority of customers only want to get cheap commercial insurance in a straightforward fashion - no fancy product names and terms that are hard to understand. Time wasted is money wasted and spending countless hours with an insurance agent is lost productivity.

Thimble recognizes this concern. That’s why even though its insurances aren’t as many as the companies above, Thimble is one of the cheapest business insurance companies in the USA with about 50 employees, 23 investors, and a valuation of $22 million.

Products Thimble offers best fit the needs of the smallest businesses such as computer shops, computer technicians, software developers, and programmers. Insurances customers may buy from Thimble are:

• Commercial general liability

• Small business insurance

• Business owners policy

• Professional liability/ errors and omissions

• Equipment breakdown

• Drone insurance

• Commercial property

• Event insurance

Thimble assures customers that getting insured won’t take more than an hour. Also, the policies it offers generally apply to all risks small businesses face. With that said, if it's cheap business insurance quotes, Thimble should be on everybody’s list.

Next Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Next?

• Fast and easy online experience

• Live free certificates of insurance online

• Easy to add extra certificate holders online (free to add one extra)

• No cancellation and administrative fees

• Customer service reps are all licensed insurance agents

• Offers a lot of ways for customers to enjoy discounts

• Policies that always fit the needs of small businesses

• Insures customers within 5 minutes

• Next doesn’t implement deductibles on its general liability insurance

Why Take Next with a Grain of Salt?

• While most of its claims are handled in-house, some are handled by a third party company and makes the process longer

Next claims to be the leading insurtech company in the United States. This might be true as Next is known for winning a lot of funding projects from big-name companies for the purpose of bringing better services for small business owners. Right now, Next’s valuation is estimated to be more than $250 million. This company’s rapid growth is further attested by the growth of its 1,000 employees.

Just like Thimble, Next covers the smallest business owners such as those running food trucks, computer shops, amusement arcades, catering business, and many more. Products Next offers are:

• General liability coverage

• Workers compensation coverage

• Professional liability insurance

• Commercial auto insurance

• Commercial property insurance

• Business owners policy

• Hired and non-owned vehicle insurance

• Equipment and tools insurance

• Liquor liability insurance

• Business insurance

Next offers discounts to give customers the best commercial insurance coverage. For example, bundling general liability and liquor liability insurance allows one to enjoy a 5% discount. Aside from discounts, Next also allows customers to enjoy getting a certificate of insurance and name additional insured without any additional charges.

Take time to check out Next general liability insurance as it’s very comprehensive. General liability coverage from Next doesn’t only cover legal cost and injury compensation but will also cover customer medical cost, libel, slander, and defamation.

Hiscox Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Hiscox?

• Online quoting and purchase

• Coverage can be customized for a variety of sectors

• Global coverage (claims have to be filed in the US/Canada)

• Available in all 50 states

• 24/7 online claims filing

• 14-day money-back guarantee (if there weren't any claims or losses)

• In case of an accident where someone who is not you or your employees were injured, your Hiscox business general liability insurance will cover relevant medical costs for every person that was injured, with up to $5,000 per person

Why Take Hiscox with a Grain of Salt?

• A lot of existing customers report that they experienced issues in terms of claims filing with Hiscox

Hiscox offers some of the most useful property and casualty insurance products among the best business insurance companies in the United States. Established businesses aren’t the only ones benefiting from Hiscox but also small ones too, especially sole proprietorships. Operating in the global insurance market, Hiscox employs 3,000 people and holds a revenue of $3.76 billion.

Hiscox’s commercial auto coverage is very remarkable. While most companies draw a line between commercial car insurance and personal car insurance, Hiscox gives customers the liberty to get their vehicles insured as a commercial car and as a personal car.

A lot of customers find Hiscox’s certificate of insurance remarkable. This is because customers can easily add their client’s names or landlord names to it. In addition, Hiscox policyholders only need to provide their email address and policy number to get their certificate of insurance.

The Hartford Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by The Hartford?

• Offers insurance solutions to small and big businesses

• Employee benefits insurance is very comprehensive

• Easy online quoting

• Provides up to $2 million per occurrence limit for every general liability business insurance claim with a $4 million policy aggregate limit

• 4.8 stars rating from 18,000 insured businesses

• Offers workers comp in partnership with more than 1 million healthcare providers in the United States

Why Take The Hartford with a Grain of Salt?

• Constantly experiences disputes with customers

When it comes to commercial and property insurance, The Hartford is one of the cheapest commercial insurance companies that come to mind. The Hartford offers solutions for small and big businesses and strives to maintain responsive customer service. This helped The Hartford employ 19,500 people and achieve revenue amounting to $20 billion.

Its commercial insurance is open for large and small businesses. The Hartford small business insurance offers general liability insurance, business property insurance, and business income insurance. Also, The Hartford offers specialized insurance products for large businesses - General Liability Choice®, Property Choice®, and Workers Compensation insurance.

The best thing about The Hartford is that it puts a lot of effort into resolving disputes with customers. In this sense, the company is highly dedicated to making sure that customers can understand why their claims were denied, why their rates suddenly increased, and so on. >

Geico Commercial Auto Insurance

Why Get Insured by Geico?

• In partnership with Hiscox for commercial property insurance and other business insurance products because it underwrites commercial auto policies only

• Extremely strong financially with an A++ credit rating

• Offers general liability insurance with per-occurrence limit starting at $300,000

• In partnership with Berkshire Hathaway for its workers comp insurance

Why Take Geico with a Grain of Salt?

• Has too many claims complaints from customers

Many people know Geico for its catchy advertisements that often involve its mascot, The Geico. One of the company’s strongest traits is its unique approach to marketing that, nevertheless, would be for nothing without its quality insurance solutions. A lot of people turn to Geico for commercial auto insurance, pet insurance, and personal auto insurance.

Since Geico puts most of its efforts into car insurance solutions, its business insurance might not compare to the products of other best cheap commercial insurance companies like Chubb or Hartford. Nonetheless, it provides the coverage customers need. Geico small business insurance offers the following in partnership with Hiscox and Berkshire Hathaway:

• Commercial liability insurance

• Professional liability insurance

• Cyber liability insurance

• Workers compensation

• Medical malpractice

Geico excels as one of the best cheap commercial insurance companies for commercial auto. The rates are pretty low but the customer service is top-notch. Add the fact that Geico’s terms are very flexible and we can say that it’s the best commercial insurance agency for covering a business’s vehicles.

State Farm Business Insurance

Why Get Insured By State Farm?

• High customer satisfaction ratings

• Financially strong

• 24/7 phone and online claims service

• Customers can track their claims process

• Efficient customer service

• Has specialized contractor’s coverage

Why Take State Farm with a Grain of Salt?

• Received complaints about unfairly denied claims

• Offers discounts in selected locations

State Farm’s rates can be higher than other companies. Nonetheless, it still counts as one of the best cheap commercial insurance companies. Why? State Farm offers small business coverage whose usefulness is more than what the customers pay for. Coverages from State Farm cover all types of risks - from accidents to economic breakdown, natural disasters, employee dishonesty, etc. And so, it’s no wonder that it continues to be one of the strongest carriers in the United States with at least 50,000 employees and 19,000 agents.

Insurance solutions State Farm has in store for small businesses are commercial auto, business owner’s policy, contractor’s policy, workers compensation, and fidelity and surety bonds. There’s also State Farm liability insurance and life insurance coverages for businesses and their employees.

Working with State Farm is very easy as it has a lot of agents. In this sense, it is very easy for a customer to find someone to help with claims filing. In addition, State Farm customers can call different telephone lines based on what they want State Farm to do for them.

Travelers Commercial Insurance

Why Get Insured by Travelers?

• Provides more than the usual minimum for its general liability insurance
  

• Has tailored insurance solutions for the unique risks each business faces

• Commercial auto insurance rates are lower than the national average

• MyTravelers® for Business allows policyholders to pay, make a claim, view policy changes, and do other things without the help of customer support staff

• Excellent customer ratings

• Financially strong

Why Take Travelers with a Grain of Salt?

• Travelers rates can sometimes become too expensive for their customers

Many compliment Travelers for its auto and home insurance solutions. But not many talks about its business insurance that’s equally great. Travelers provide coverage to all kinds of businesses and ensure that rates are fair and processing claims is quick and easy. Right now, Travelers employs more than 30,000 professionals and has a revenue of $32 billion.

Travelers offer insurance solutions for small and big businesses in the construction, energy, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, technology, and transportation industries. Particularly, coverages it offers to solve problems business owners might face are:

• Commercial auto and trucking

• Management liability

• Professional liability

• Surety bonds

• Cyber liability

• Property

• Workers compensation

• General liability insurance

• Small business owner’s policy

What we like about Travelers is that it offers coverage based on the business industry and with this, all specialty and non-specialty businesses are covered. Another thing, there’s also the Travelers “claim central” which simplifies claims filing and tracking. All in all, Travelers is a good company despite the fact that its rates are slightly higher than others.

Progressive Commercial Insurance

Why Get Insured by Progressive?

• Customers that fit Progressive’s preferred market, have good credit, had no tickets or accidents, and have had a higher credit score prior to insurance are absolutely sure to enjoy the cheapest rates for their commercial auto policy.

• Helps customers get all the custom coverages that best fit their business in different states except Hawaii

• Offers custom limits that best answer the costs a business owner has foreseen

Why Take Progressive with a Grain of Salt?

• Some customers reported that Progressive has a habit of suddenly increasing rates

Many applaud Progressive’s commercial auto insurance. Rates are great, there are no spikes in fees, and filing a process is very easy. In terms of financial stability, Progressive doesn’t disappoint. As of 2020, Progressive’s revenue reached $42.7 billion and its employees reached 45,000.

Progressive’s business owner’s policy is very remarkable since it provides protection for equipment breakdown, damaged stocks, and damage to business property. For those who only want to get one kind of coverage, then there’s Progressive small business insurance having stand-alone coverages such as:

• Commercial auto

• Cyber liability

• General liability

• Professional liability

• Workers comp

Businesses with risks that Progressive specializes in will enjoy cheap and stable rates. The company even offers very generous commercial auto insurance coverage if the customer’s business isn’t involved in road accidents and carries out periodic vehicle maintenance.

Allstate Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Allstate?

• Allstate agents take time to know their customers and strive to build a long-term relationship

• Property coverage in Allstate business insurance accounts for the most common disasters businesses face such as a vehicle crashing into the building, theft, fire, vandalism, and sprinkler leakage

• Commercial auto insurance has rental car coverage

• Allstate® mobile app allows customers to pay and manage insurance policies

• Fair customer ratings

• Underwrites esurance business insurance policies

Why Take Allstate with a Grain of Salt?

• The only way to file a claim is to call Allstate or an Allstate agent

Those who have worked with Allstate say that the company makes everything easier with its extensive agent network. Each Allstate agent easily recognizes the unique needs of different customers. And so, it’s impossible to get an insurance policy that fails to cover the risks a particular business faces.

Coverages from Allstate are very comprehensive. For example, Allstate business auto insurance is made up of liability coverage, collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage, and rental car coverage. However, commercial auto insurance is only one of the many excellent business insurance coverages the company offers. There’s also:

• Property coverage

• Business interruption coverage

• Liability coverage

• Equipment breakdown coverage

Some say that Allstate doesn’t offer the cheapest commercial insurance quotes. However, we think this isn’t the case. It’s true that a first-time customer might see that Allstate’s rates are expensive. However, if one really thinks about it, Allstate’s rates are actually cheap as there are incentives for customers which pave the way to save money on premiums. Also, Allstate agents never close a deal without educating their clients completely. Simply put, they make sure everything is a win-win situation for all even for customers who don’t make a claim successfully.

USAA Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by USAA?

• Good customer ratings

• Financially strong

• Variety of advanced, broad, and customizable coverage options and packages that cover any risk a business might face

• Very cheap rates for customers who qualify for USAA business insurance

• Provides legal advice when policyholders face a lawsuit

• USAA is a non-profit and distributes any excess revenues to its members

Why Take USAA with a Grain of Salt?

• An exclusive company, only takes in US military personnel, veterans, and their direct families

• Policies are underwritten by a third party, which adds some risk to you as a customer

USAA is the go-to carrier for United States military personnel and veterans and their direct families. The company offers very low premiums for these people. Life insurance and auto insurance are where USAA mostly shines. However, none says that its business insurance is bad. For a quick profile, USAA has 32,000 employees and a revenue of $40 billion.

One thing to remember though is that USAA’s business insurance isn’t available for all. Just like its other policies, only businesses that veterans or military personnelown can get USAA business insurance. The company isn’t inclusive and this is a trait that we don’t like. Nonetheless, for those who are eligible, USAA is a wonderful partner as it provides:

• General liability insurance

• Workers compensation

• Business owners policy

• Professional liability

• Cyber liability

• Umbrella

• Commercial auto

We find USAA great because its policies immediately apply to the most common risks that businesses face. This means that filing a claim will be fast and easy. Specialized businesses may not benefit a lot. However, USAA still manages to keep up with the competition by offering fast claims processes, transparent underwriting, and low-cost business insurance quotes for businesses owned by active and veteran military personnel.

Farmers Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Farmers?

• Reputable customer service

Why Take Farmers with a Grain of Salt?

• Has a lot of customer complaints in BBB

Farmers started by insuring rural farmers. But its humble beginnings are overshadowed by its success in the insurance market. Right now, Farmers don’t only work with people in the agriculture sector but also with other customers who want to get business insurance, life insurance, car insurance, and home insurance. Farmers insurance currently employs $12,740 employees.

Farmers business insurance caters to the needs of different businesses regardless of industry, size, and specialty operations. Coverages for customers are:

• Property

• Liability insurance

• Crime coverage

• Commercial auto

• Workers compensation

• Umbrella

• Grouped life insurance

• Loss control coverage

However, those above aren’t the only coverages customers can avail. If the customers wish for it, Farmers also provide specialty insurance programs such as:

• Wholesaler’s insurance

• Retail store insurance

• Restaurant and food truck insurance

• Church insurance

• Office insurance

• Manufacturing insurance

• Auto-service insurance

• Education, charity, and non-profit organization insurance

Embroker Business Insurance

Why Get Insured by Embroker?

• Customers can get insured in 15 minutes

• Customizable policies

• Offers Specialized professional liability insurance for lawyers and law firms

• 1st digital insurance carrier in the USA

Why Take Embroker with a Grain of Salt?

• Very limited insurance programs for large businesses

• Not an insurance company but an insurance broker

Embroker strives to keep rates very stable for customers. Therefore, it’s a solid option for people who are afraid of ending up working with a carrier that suddenly increases rates. Additionally, Embroker also offers on-the-go insurance products such as business owner’s policy, EPLI, commercial crime, tech errors and omissions, standard professional liability, and directors and officers liability.

What is Business Insurance?

Also referred to as commercial insurance, business insurance protects businesses from unexpected financial, physical, and intellectual property damage or loss.

Business insurance comes in many varieties. For example, there are business insurances that the policyholder can customize, buy as stand alone policies, or have for hours, weeks, or months.

When looking for cheap commercial insurance, think about the most probable risks your business might face in the future, how much money you want to get from your insurance policy, what discounts you can get, whether or not it’s possible to cancel your policy anytime, how easy it is to process and file claims, and whether or not you can get a refund. Here are some questions that will help you brainstorm for other considerations.

• Would small business insurance be applicable to my business? Am I operating a small business or a larger one?

• What services does my business provide?

• Who is my business helping?

• What industry is my business in?

• Where is my business operating?

• How many employees does my business have?

• What are the costliest risks my business can face in the future?

• How many assets do I need to protect with insurance?

• How long has my business been around?

How Much is Business Insurance?

There are two general types of business - SMEs and large businesses. SMEs literally means small and medium-sized businesses - those employing 1 - 200 people and usually operating in their localities. It’s important to know which is which as both don’t pay the same cost for insurance.

Large businesses pay more than $1,000 a month for their insurance policies, primarily because they face a lot of risks and need to cover a lot of assets. On the other hand, SMEs get business insurance for as low as $152 a month. Note that these figures are just an estimated cost of insurance that carriers offer as a business owner's policy.

Insurance for small businesses and large businesses consists of insurance products each having numerous coverages - property insurance, liability insurance, and commercial auto insurance.

• Commercial Property insurance - provides money for reimbursement, repair, and replacement of tangible or intangible business property.

• Liability insurance - protects a business by answering the cost of lawsuits such as attorney fees, filing fees, and compensation to the plaintiff. Coverages in liability insurance are general liability, products liability, premises liability, professional liability, employer’s liability, and directors’ and officers’ liability.

• Commercial auto insurance - provides money when the business’s vehicle gets involved or causes an accident and the driver, employees, and other concerned parties sustain injuries as a result. Coverages in commercial auto insurance are commercial auto liability, bodily injury liability, property damage liability, personal injury PIP), uninsured/underinsured motorist, and comprehensive coverage.

So how much does liability insurance cost as well as the others we mentioned in the above bullet? These tables show the cost of common coverages.

Liability Insurance Cost

Commercial Auto Insurance Cost

Commercial Property Insurance Cost and Others

We can also determine the pricing of business insurance based on business organization - limited liability corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations. The cost of business insurance for each is:

• LLC insurance cost $47.40 a month or  $568.80 a year

• Sole proprietorships can get insurance for as low as  $39.58  a month or   $474.96 a year

• Partnerships and corporations pay   $53  monthly or  $636  annually for their insurance policies

* Business insurance cost for LLC, sole proprietorship, etc. is an estimate of all the policy limits and coverages availed, namely liability insurance, commercial property insurance, workers comp, commercial auto, commercial property, and optional policies.

How Much is Small Business Insurance Cost?

An absolute figure is hard to determine as there are a lot of factors to consider. And so, to give you a better understanding of the pricing, we made a table showing the cost of insurance for different small businesses and professions.

How Much Does a $1 Million Dollar Business Insurance Policy Cost?

A simple one million dollar comprehensive general liability insurance policy for large businesses costs $500 - $1,200+ a year, depending on business type, size, industry, location, number of employees, products, revenue, and other factors.

How Much is General Liability Insurance Cost for Small Business?

According to the Small Business Association, general liability insurance for small business cost is $60 - $170 a month. However, based on our research, the cost is $30 per month or $360 a year.

Compare Small Business Insurance Cost in All 50 States

Here’s a table showing the estimated cost of business insurance in the different states of the United States. Use the information here to estimate how much the premiums will be if you have businesses in different locations.

How Do I Get Cheap Business Insurance?

The first method you can do to get cheap business insurance is to visit the respective pages of all the companies we mentioned here. Some of the companies we featured offer an online business insurance generator tool that gives the exact cost of insurance based on the type of business, number of employees, annual revenue, and total value of assets. Getting the cheapest commercial insurance quotes with this method will take more than an hour.

However, you can expedite the process by using business insurance quotation tools . Insurance quotation tools make things easier because they compile all cheap commercial auto insurance quotes, general liability insurance quotes, and other coverages in business insurance.

Aside from helping you get quotes quickly, business insurance quotation tools also allow for business owners' insurance quote comparison online. Business insurance quotation tools don’t only compile quotes from carriers but also rank them from the cheapest to the most expensive or from the least comprehensive to the most comprehensive.

How to Make Business Insurance Cheaper Than It Already is?

The table below summarizes the different methods on how a customer can make the premiums for their business insurance coverages cheaper:

General Liability Insurance

• Have higher deductibles

• Exclude coverages that don’t offer any protection from expected risks

• Bundle general liability with optional coverages

• Use risk-only classification

Commercial Auto Insurance

• Self-insure property damage liability and glass coverage

• Drop under/uninsured motorist coverage if there’s already a no-fault/PIP coverage

• Use higher deductibles

• Ask if there are discounts for clean driving record

• Replace or fix old and defective auto parts before getting commercial auto insurance

• Opt for an umbrella/excess coverage

Umbrella Coverage

• Start with an excess liability offering $500,000

• Determine the premium basis

• Think about getting alternative limits

Business Property Insurance

• Get fire loss prevention systems before getting insured

• Repair any existing damages to the building before getting insured

• Get roofing that underwriters are looking for

• Have higher deductibles

What Kind of Insurance Do I Need for My Business?

There are lots of coverages that SMEs and large businesses should opt to get. Getting all coverages is possible but isn’t the smartest decision. In this part of our discussion, we’ll discuss the most essential ones businesses owners shouldn’t hesitate to have.

Commercial General Liability Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest commercial general liability insurance

Commercial general liability insurance, or simply general liability insurance, is the first coverage that most carriers offer to business owners. Its functions are:

• Provide funds to pay for legal costs of personal injury lawsuits

• Provide funds to pay for victim compensation if the policyholder loses the lawsuit

• In case of property damage, provide money to reimburse concerned parties

• Take care of advertising injury lawsuits

• Take care of copyright infringement lawsuits

Basic general liability insurance is already enough to cover a variety of risks a business might face. However, some customers want to have more protection. In effect, carriers allow the adding of optional coverages such as:

• Products and completed operations

• Public liability

Most carriers allow customers to have $1 million from their commercial general liability per claim with an aggregate limit set to $1 million or $2 million a year. It’s possible to increase the limits of commercial general liability but this will take a lot of convincing to the underwriters. Instead of asking the carrier to increase limits, policyholders can just decide to pair their commercial general liability insurance with excess liability insurance.

It’s important to understand that commercial general liability comes as a claims-made policy and as an occurrence policy. A claims-made commercial general liability applies to any claims resulting from incidents the contract states as covered during a determined period. On the other hand, an occurrence-based general liability provides coverage even if the insurance contract is no longer in force, so long as the incident happened during the time the policyholder is covered.

Claims-made general liability insurance is ideal for businesses that might cause immediate injuries to someone. Occurrence-based general liability insurance, on the other hand, is useful for businesses that might be responsible for an incident that harmed someone weeks, months, or years later on.

Some confuse general liability with public liability insurance, so it’s important to distinguish one from the other. General liability provides protection for liability claims made by customers and other entities directly associated with the business. On the other hand, public liability provides protection from claims made by random persons who experienced harm after a business-related accident. Also, depending on the carrier, one can find public liability insurance quotes added to general liability insurance.

There are three ways to get commercial general liability insurance; get it as a stand-alone policy or get it as part of commercial package policy or business owners policy. The median cost of a commercial general liability policy is $500 a year.

Read More: Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance Cost

While it is very important to protect your business, it is also essential that you protect the space and the roof over your company’s head. How?

Commercial Property Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest commercial property insurance

Paying for someone’s injuries isn’t the only thing that businesses have to worry about. Damage to business property is an even bigger threat.

Commercial property insurance is what business owners need to protect themselves from losses arising from damage to tangible assets because of:

• Fire

• Civil unrest

• Equipment breakdown

• Theft

Tangible assets that commercial property insurance covers are:

• Commercial buildings

• Business signages

• Common business equipment

• Business specialty tools

• Stocks and inventory

• Company records and files

Carriers exclude flood damage and earthquake damage in their commercial property policies. Those who want to get protection from these threats must get stand-alone flood insurance or earthquake insurance.

Policyholders can protect their buildings with commercial property insurance in two ways. The first is to insure the building by its actual cash value while the second is to insure the building by its estimated reconstruction cost.

By insuring a building according to its actual cash value, the policyholder can get money equal to the projected market value of the building before the time it got damaged. On the other hand, insuring a building according to its reconstruction cost provides the policyholder money equal to the estimated cost for its reconstruction.

As said earlier, commercial property insurance doesn’t only cover the building but business equipment too. This works differently depending on the carrier. Some carriers only cover business equipment inside the commercial building, while others cover equipment inside and outside . With that being said, we highly recommend customers to read the terms of their commercial property insurance before closing the deal.

To note, home-based businesses should be clear about this one important thing. Hazard insurance doesn’t cover stocks. It’s because hazard insurance only applies to the risks covered in homeowner's policies. Just like other businesses, home-based businesses must purchase commercial property insurance with stocks and contents coverage for protection.

So how much should you expect to pay for commercial property insurance? It really depends on the value of the building and your location, among other factors. The median cost, however, is around $750/year.

To learn more, visit our Commercial Property Insurance Guide.

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest workers comp insurance

Laws in the United States require employers to provide aid when their employees get injured and can’t report to work. And so, carriers offer worker's compensation insurance, otherwise known as workman’s compensation insurance, to businesses.

Worker's compensation insurance will pay for the hospital bills and a portion of lost income whenever an employee becomes injured at work because of an accident, an attack, or civil unrest. Injuries covered range from contusions, concussions, lacerations, sprains, diseases, and more.

When to get worker's compensation insurance heavily depends on where a business is located. For example, if a business is in Texas, then there’s no need to get workers comp as doing so is optional, and failing to get won’t incur criminal liabilities. In states like Connecticut and Louisiana, the law requires businesses to get workers comp even if they only have one employee. There are also states like Alaska and Alabama that command businesses to get workers comp the moment they employ three or more.

The only way to get workers comp insurance is to buy it as a stand-alone policy. With that said, a customer can never get this coverage from business owner’s policies or commercial package policies.

Aside from saving money on employee compensation, having workers comp has other advantages. That is, the policy allows a business owner to retain talented employees and build trust in the workplace. On average, a worker's compensation insurance plan will cost $85 a month.

Read more: Workers Compensation Insurance

Now time to think about the services you are providing. Are you selling a physical product? If so, listen up because product liability insurance is useful for you.

Product Liability Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest product liability insurance

You spent endless amounts of time ensuring that your customers receive only the best from your company. However, even if you are certain your product is completely safe, misused products can often be dangerous. There is always a risk when someone is utilizing your product as accidents can happen.

It is important that you are prepared in case of this event or it may cost you BIG time. In 2012, product liability lawsuits resulted in an average award of $3,439,035! Yes, you read that right. In order to protect your company from potential lawsuits, you should invest in a product liability insurance plan. Product liability insurance will answer the cost of lawsuits and compensation for personal injuries and property damage caused by the products a business sold to customers.

Product liability insurance cost depends on the product you are selling and its associated risk: a paintball gun will cost more to insure than a doll. For low-risk items, you can expect to pay about $0.25 for $100 of revenue. For higher-risk items, you may pay 10 times that amount.

Learn more: Product Liability Insurance & Completed Operations Coverage

Directors and Officers Insurance (D&O Insurance)

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest directors and officers insurance

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance cover directors and officers, as well as their families, for claims made against them as they serve on a board of directors or as an executive of a company. This coverage comes in the form of legal fees and settlement costs.

Reasons for a claim to be brought against a director or officer include fraud, misuse of funds, or misrepresentation of assets. Essentially, directors' and officers' insurance covers these “management errors and omissions,” or managerial decisions that have adverse financial consequences. This policy allows those in decision-making roles to not have to worry about the financial burden of a lawsuit brought against them and instead focus on business operations.

It is important to note, however, that the policy may not cover if the act is proven to be intentional. This includes embezzlement or other situations where a person knowingly tries to leverage personal profit at the company's expense.

So who should purchase this plan? Only larger companies? No! Any company that has a board of directors should consider purchasing a D&O policy. This insurance is a bit pricey, with the median cost coming to $1,240 a year.

Read more: Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance

Commercial Auto Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest commercial auto insurance

Vehicles used for business purposes will never be covered by personal car policies. Instead, what provides coverage is commercial auto insurance. Commercial auto insurance works the same way as personal car insurance in that it provides money for:

• Legal costs and personal injury compensation from accidents the commercial vehicle caused

• Pay for the hospital bills of the driver and his passengers

• Pay for the maintenance and repair of the commercial vehicle

• Reimburse the policyholder in case of vehicle theft or vandalism

Automobiles can be insured using personal car insurance or commercial auto insurance. However, there are specific vehicles the owner can only get insured with commercial auto insurance such as:

• Food trucks

• Delivery vans

• Tractors

• Pickup trucks

• Box trucks

• Company automobiles

• Any vehicle having a gross weight of 26,001 pounds or more

Commercial auto insurance can also provide coverage for tractor-trailers, bulldozers, backhoes, and other mobile heavy equipment. The reason for this is that it’s illegal to run these machines on public roads without the minimum auto coverage, and commercial auto insurance is the only way to do so.

On a side note, some carriers allow customers to use their personal car insurance even if the vehicle is used for business purposes. However, this results in higher rates. And so, it might be better to switch from personal car insurance to commercial auto insurance altogether.

The law requires all businesses having a vehicle to have the minimum coverage. Minimum coverage varies with some only requiring $15,000 while others want owners to have more. Nonetheless, experts suggest that businesses should carry $500,000 up to $1 million commercial auto coverage to be safe from risks.

Business credit rating has a significant impact on commercial auto insurance rates. This implies that growing businesses will have cheaper rates than struggling ones. The average commercial auto insurance cost is around $1,000 a year

Read more: Commercial Auto Insurance

Business Interruption Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest business interruption insurance

Business interruption insurance will compensate companies for intrinsic damages of business closure. This includes covering lost profits, loans, training of new employees, and operational costs. Aside from these, business interruption insurance will also help to pay for wages, taxes, and, if it happens, the cost of transferring to a new location.

Commonly, policyholders can file a claim for their business interruption insurance when closure happens because of a fire or natural disaster but with the exception of floods or earthquakes. Business interruption insurance will also apply if authorities temporarily close a business.

Just like all insurances, standard business interruption insurance cannot offer absolute protection. Policyholders can’t file a claim when a business is closed due to epidemics or outbreaks. To remedy this, customers can decide to get all-risk coverage.

Business interruption insurance can either act as a standalone plan or an addition to a property insurance policy. So who can purchase this plan? Those who operate out of a permanent commercial location - in other words, if you work from home, you likely wouldn’t qualify for a business interruption insurance policy. The average business interruption insurance cost is $1,200/year.

Read more: Business Interruption Insurance

Liquor Liability Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest liquor liability insurance

Do you operate a brewery , vineyard, catering service , liquor store , restaurant , coffee shop, or other business that profits by manufacturing, selling, or serving alcoholic beverages? If so, it is imperative that you get liquor liability insurance.

Liquor liability insurance becomes helpful when the business is held liable for personal injuries a drunk customer caused or sustained. Other situations, where the policyholder can use their liquor liability insurance, are:

• Facing a lawsuit accusing the business of selling alcohol to minors

• Facing a lawsuit accusing the business of overserving patrons

• Facing a lawsuit accusing the business of failing to evaluate the condition of the patron before serving a drink

Only businesses involved with selling, manufacturing, and serving alcoholic beverages must get liquor liability insurance. Liquor liability insurance costs $1,210 a year. It’s important to note that clubs, restaurants, bars, and taverns must expect to pay more.

Ocean & Inland Marine Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest ocean & inland marine insurance

Some businesses have to ship products to make money. In terms of shipping, one of the dangers that might happen is the loss or damage of cargo. These can incur losses amounting to millions of dollars. And so, carriers offer ocean & inland marine coverage to protect businesses.

Ocean & inland marine coverage will reimburse the policyholder a percentage of the total value of lost or damaged cargo. Situations, where the policyholder can successfully file a claim, are:

• When the cargo was lost or damaged because the delivering vehicle experienced an accident

• When the cargo was lost or damaged due to theft

• When the cargo was jettisoned

In addition, all businesses that ship their products expressly agree in writing that they will pay if the shipping carrier declares a general average. A general average is a principle wherein the shipping carrier holds all the cargo of customers unless they pay a fixed amount. Ocean and inland marine coverage doesn’t only cover lost and damaged cargo but will also take care of paying for a general average.

Read more: Ocean & Inland Marine Insurance

Business Owner’s Policy: BOP Insurance

*Use CoverWallet’s online business insurance quote comparison platform to see which of these companies offers the cheapest business owner’s policy

Deciding to get a business owner’s policy is a good decision. BOP bundles several insurances together into an insurance plan. The primary advantage of a business owner’s policy over others is that it makes the rates of bundled policies cheaper than stand-alone policies. But although cheaper, the protection that BOP offers is the same as when buying stand-alone policies one after another.

Another thing, most business owner’s policies can be customized as per the policyholder’s needs. Through a business owner's policy, a business owner can opt to drop or add optional coverages to get more protection or to avoid paying too much insurance premiums.

With that said, we recommend small business owners to get a business owner’s policy, especially when it’s their first time getting insured. This is because it guards against the risks that commonly cause small businesses to fail.

Learn more about Business Owners Policy (BOP) Insurance through our extensive guide.

Can Self-Employed Professionals Get Business Insurance?

Yes, carriers offer business insurance for independent professionals. Business insurance for self-employed offers coverage against equipment breakdown, lost income, damage to specialty tools, and lawsuits. The policyholder can even get workers comp for themselves.

There are also options for how long the insurance will take effect. For example, those who provide services as side gigs can get one-day business insurance but at higher rates. Business insurance for self-employed only gives $1 million up to $2 million basic coverage and this can’t be extended by the policyholder except by getting excess liability insurance.

What Coverage Shouldn’t Be Missing in Insurance for Internet Businesses?

A coverage that shouldn’t be missing in insurance for internet business is cyber liability insurance. Policyholders can make a claim for this insurance in the event of data breach or cyber-attack. Cyber liability insurance helps by giving money for customer notification, fines, legal fees, credit monitoring, and data recovery. Other important coverages that must be in internet business insurance are commercial property insurance, professional liability insurance, public liability insurance, and general liability insurance.

Do Gun Shops and Shooting Ranges Pay More for Business Insurance?

Yes, it’s not only that gun shops and shooting ranges might pay more for insurance but they might even struggle to find a company that will provide coverage. On average, gun shops pay $797.33 a month or $9,568 a year for their business insurance.

Is Renter’s Insurance a Business Insurance?

A business renters insurance is business insurance. Its coverages are the same as that of standard business insurance policies. Commonly, renters insurance has general liability, commercial property, and business interruption policies. Business renters insurance has the protection for businesses that rents a storefront, a warehouse, an office, a conference hall, or any other property that can be leased to conduct business operations. Premiums for business renters insurance are cheap and most policyholders only pay $13.75 a month or $165 a year.

Is Short-Term Business Insurance More Expensive Than Standard Business Insurance?

While carriers offer standard business insurance starting at $19 or even lower, the pricing for short-term business insurance usually starts at $100 or even more. A concrete example is that of Thimble which has an average pricing of $200 for a one-day coverage. Aside from rates, short-term business insurance is pricey because the customer has to pay the full amount right then and there instead of paying monthly or yearly.

Is Liberty Mutual Insurance Cheap?

Unfortunately, Liberty Mutual didn’t make the cut as one of the cheapest business insurance companies in our review. The company’s rates are very expensive compared to the other companies we featured. For example, Liberty Mutual’s commercial auto insurance is double the price of Geico’s. Its business owner’s policy is the same and starts at $400 a month. Nonetheless, take time to check Liberty Mutual out. Its insurance policies are great for wholesale, healthcare, and construction businesses.

Does Flip Program Offer Business Insurance?

Flip program offers business insurance but not for all businesses. Small businesses that Flip Program insures are only those that offer food and hospitality services such as caterers, food trailers, delis, restaurants, and the like. This is why Flip Program didn’t make it on our list as it only provides coverage for a limited number of businesses. But we commend Flip Program for its rates. Business insurance from the company starts at $299 a year or $24.91 a month.