- Our take
- What makes Nationwide different?
- Small business policies from Nationwide
- How much does Nationwide insurance cost?
- How to save on the Nationwide small business insurance
- How to buy small business insurance from Nationwide
- The importance of commercial insurance for small businesses
- Bottom line
- Methodology
Our take
Nationwide is ranked highly for its customer service and is financially stable. Its coverage options for small and mid-sized businesses include business owner’s policies for companies with up to $5 million in sales. It also offers options that many other insurers do not, such as accounts receivable coverage in case you're unable to collect payments from a client.
Another unique benefit of Nationwide is that it offers professional liability insurance – which covers client lawsuits related to poor business advice, breach of contract, misrepresentation, and negligence – to part-time freelancers. The policy is available to a variety of workers, including accountants, engineers, consultants, lawyers and technology professionals. The policy provides $1 million in coverage.
On the other hand, Nationwide receives slightly more complaints than expected for a company its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Additionally, you can’t purchase policies online.
- Accounts receivable coverage offered
- Professional liability insurance available for part-time freelancers
- Specialized liability coverage for select industries also offered
- Limited online tools
- No online policy sales
- Higher-than-expected number of complaints
What makes Nationwide different?
Compared to other small business insurance companies, Nationwide offers more tailored coverage. It offers unique policies, like accounts receivable coverage, and sells specialized liability insurance for industries like farming, energy and security.
Additionally, Nationwide’s part-time freelancer coverage can be a great solution for professionals who work less than 26 hours a week and make under $250,000 through their business. Its errors and omissions (E&O) policy – also known as professional liability insurance – provides valuable protection at a lower premium than what a full-time freelancer would pay.
Nationwide has a higher customer satisfaction score from J.D. Power than many other small business insurance companies.
Small business policies from Nationwide
Nationwide offers many insurance policies for small businesses. Some of the policies available include:
- Business owner’s policy: A BOP combines general liability and commercial property insurance at a discounted rate.
- Commercial auto insurance: Commercial auto provides liability coverage for owners or employees who drive business-owned or leased vehicles.
- Commercial property insurance: Commercial property covers damage to your physical workspace, business equipment, and inventory.
- Cyber liability insurance: Cyber liability insurance covers financial losses from a cyberattack.
- Employment practices liability insurance: EPLI protects a business if a fired employee sues for wrongful termination, harassment, or similar issues.
- Equipment breakdown insurance: Equipment breakdown insurance will pay to repair business equipment.
- General liability insurance: General liability insurance covers third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage, and advertising injury.
- Professional liability insurance: Professional liability insurance covers client lawsuits related to poor business advice, breach of contract, misrepresentation, and negligence.
- Umbrella insurance: Commercial umbrella insurance provides excess liability coverage if a claim exceeds the coverage limits of another liability policy, like general liability insurance.
- Workers' compensation: Workers’ comp covers an employee’s medical expenses if they get sick or injured at work.
How much does Nationwide insurance cost?
Nationwide’s website allows some businesses to receive quotes but doesn't offer them in every industry or location. For example, we could not secure quotes online for a Florida-based business.
How to save on the Nationwide small business insurance
Nationwide doesn’t advertise any discounts online for small business customers. However, you might qualify for a bundling discount if you purchase multiple insurance policies. Some insurers also offer discounts for paying in full or enrolling in automatic payments. To find out what discounts you might be eligible for, we recommend speaking to a Nationwide agent.
How to buy small business insurance from Nationwide
Nationwide offers online quotes for certain policy types, like general liability insurance and commercial auto insurance. Depending on the policy you want, you might have to call an agent to get a quote. Additionally, Nationwide doesn’t offer online policy sales. After getting a personalized quote, you’ll need to work with an agent to purchase the policy and get your certificate of insurance (COI).
The importance of commercial insurance for small businesses
Operating a small business comes with a number of risks that can lead to financial consequences. To protect your business against potential pitfalls, it’s important to have small business insurance. Without commercial insurance, your business could face costly lawsuits.
Every small business has unique insurance needs, but some of the most common policies are general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, commercial property insurance, workers’ compensation and commercial auto insurance. If you need help choosing the right policies for your business, an insurance agent can provide a recommendation.
“When selecting an insurance provider, business owners should prioritize a company with a proven track record in supporting small businesses. It’s essential to look for tailored solutions and capabilities that address their unique risks,” says Nate Schelhaas, senior vice president and head of the business owner segment at Principal Financial Group. “Additionally, transparency, financial stability, and services that ease administrative burdens, like single-bill solutions, should be top considerations, as these factors directly impact the quality and reliability of coverage when it matters most.”
Bottom line
Nationwide can be a great insurance company for business owners seeking specialized coverage. In addition to the most common commercial insurance policies, Nationwide offers unique products, such as part-time freelancer coverage and accounts receivable coverage. The company also sells specialty liability coverage for private investigators, contractors, environmental companies and other businesses.
One of Nationwide's biggest benefits is its excellent customer satisfaction rating and financial stability score. However, according to the NAIC, it has slightly more complaints than expected for its size. While you can get a personalized rate quote online, you must work with an agent to purchase a policy.
Methodology
To identify the top 10 business insurers for small businesses, we used three trusted third-party metrics.
- J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study, the results of which we used to calculate a star score – with 5 stars being the best. American Family had the highest customer satisfaction index – a score of 727 – and was assigned 5 stars. Star scores were derived for the remaining carriers relative to their customer satisfaction index.
- AM Best Financial Strength Ratings (FSRs), which we also used to calculate a star score. A++ is the best possible FSR and companies with that rating get 5 stars. Each rating notch below A++ is assigned a 1/3 star value – for example, an A+ receives 4.67 stars, and an A receives 4.33 stars.
- 2023 complaint index data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for both commercial property and commercial liability. Again, we used the finding to calculate a star score. We collected the complaint indices and annual written premiums for each company to calculate a weighted average for each company group by line. The lowest property and liability complaint indices were assigned 5 stars, the highest complaint indices were assigned 2.5 stars. Star scores were derived for the remaining carriers relative to their complaint indices.
We then weighed the overall score with one-third for J.D. Power, one-third for AM Best, one-sixth for NAIC commercial property and one-sixth for NAIC commercial liability.
The companies were then ranked on a curve – with the top score being 5 stars and all subsequent star ratings being determined by that top score.
