Commercial auto
Commercial auto insurance provides liability and physical damage coverage for company-owned vehicles and those used for business purposes, including food trucks, dump trucks, trailers, limousines, buses and pickups.
Workers’ compensation
Workers’ compensation covers the medical bills of employees who get sick or injured on the job. It also provides partial lost wages if a staffer is unable to work for an extended period of time.
General liability insurance
General liability insurance, also called commercial general liability insurance, is one of the most common small business insurance policies. It covers businesses against third-party claims related to bodily injury, property damage and advertising injury. If your business gets sued, your policy also will cover your business’s legal fees and court costs, as well as a settlement or judgment against you.
Fleet insurance
Commercial fleet insurance is for businesses operating two or more company vehicles, which can include everything from cars, SUVs, heavy-duty trucks, buses to tractor-trailers. Fleet insurance covers injury and property damage should the driver of a company vehicle hurt someone or damage another’s vehicle or property and, depending on the policy, can also cover damages to a business’s own fleet.
Commercial truck
Commercial truck insurance, depending on the policy, protects owner-operators, fleet owners, truck drivers and employees by covering the cost of injuries and property damage when one of their vehicles is in an accident, regardless of fault.
Business owner’s policy
A BOP, or business owner’s policy, is insurance that provides coverage for business interruption, liability and property risks in a package policy. These policies, often aimed at small businesses, are typically more affordable than buying multiple policies to cover those risks separately.
Business liability
Business liability insurance protects your business from the financial fallout of claims due to injury, property damage, or reputational harm like libel or slander. If someone sues your business over an accident or harm they claim you caused, this insurance can help cover legal fees, settlements and medical bills.
Employer’s liability
Employer’s liability insurance protects businesses from employee lawsuits. If an employee sues for additional damages that workers’ comp doesn’t cover, EL shields your business from the financial impact.
Check out our detailed guide: Employer’s liability insurance
Which companies offer small business insurance?
In addition to the top five property and casualty insurance companies – State Farm, Progressive, Berkshire Hathaway, Allstate and Liberty Mutual – there are many companies that sell small business insurance, including:
The cost of small business insurance
The cost of insurance not only depends on the type of policy you want, but also on your location, the type of business you’re in, the number of workers you have, how much equipment you own and several other factors.
That said, Insureon.com, a small business insurance broker, provides these average costs for some of the more common business insurance policies:
$42 per month, or $500 a year
$67 per month, or about $800 a year
$57 per month, or about $680 a year
$61 per month, or about $730 a year
$147 per month, or $1,760 a year