- Our take
- What makes The Hartford different?
- Small business policies from The Hartford
- How much does The Hartford small business insurance cost?
- How to save on The Hartford small business insurance
- How to buy small business insurance from The Hartford
- The importance of commercial insurance for small businesses
- Bottom line
- Methodology
Our take
The Hartford is a good choice for business owners who work out of their homes because it has policies specifically for home-based businesses. The Hartford also is one of the few insurers that allows you to submit claims and request coverage changes online, which can make policy management much more convenient.
Another benefit of working with The Hartford is that it offers several non-insurance benefits to policyholders, such as discounted access to hiring platforms and special business loans. The company publishes average rates for many of its policies online, so you can see how much you might pay for certain types of coverage.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says The Hartford gets fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study ranked The Hartford slightly below its average customer satisfaction score.
- Home-based business insurance offered
- Can submit claims online
- Online quotes available
- Not available in Alaska or Hawaii
- Policies cannot be purchased online
What makes The Hartford different?
The Hartford, one of the largest commercial insurance companies in the U.S. and serving more than 1.5 million small business customers, offers many resources for small businesses, including a three-step online quiz to help you find the right insurance. Once you become a customer, you can take advantage of discounts through the company’s partner services, which include free credit monitoring from Biz2Credit, 20% off a Constant Contact email marketing subscription and a $200 hiring credit from Indeed.
If you operate a business in a high-risk industry, The Hartford’s risk-engineering team can help you identify potential workplace hazards and improve employee safety. The team also can help you put together a comprehensive risk-management program.
Another unique benefit of The Hartford is that it posts average rates online for many policies, which most other insurers don’t do. While the rates are just averages, the prices can be helpful if you’re shopping for business insurance for the first time or comparing rates.
Small business policies from The Hartford
The Hartford offers a big selection of small business insurance policies. Some of the options available include:
- Business owner’s policy: BOP combines general liability and commercial property insurance at a discounted rate.
- Business income insurance: Business income insurance replaces lost income if your business shuts down temporarily after a covered loss.
- 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.
- Data breach insurance: Data breach insurance covers financial losses after a cyberattack and includes customer notification, credit monitoring and reputation management.
- Employment practices liability insurance: EPLI protects a business if a fired employee sues for wrongful termination, harassment or similar issues.
- Flood insurance: This insurance pays to repair your physical business space and replace business property if it gets damaged in a flood.
- 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.
- Workers' compensation: Workers’ compensation covers an employee’s medical expenses if they get sick or injured on the job.
How much does The Hartford small business insurance cost?
The company's website says its customers pay an average of $1,019 per year for insurance. Something to note: The Hartford allows business owners to start the quote process online, although not all businesses are eligible for online quotes.
How to save on The Hartford small business insurance
The Hartford offers several discounts to its business insurance customers. On its website, the company advertises a discount for bundling multiple insurance policies and paying your annual premium in full.
How to buy small business insurance from The Hartford
To purchase business insurance from The Hartford, you can start by getting a quote online. You’ll submit some information about your business and the types of coverage you want. If you have any questions during the application process, you can call an agent during business hours (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET).
Keep in mind that The Hartford doesn’t allow applicants to purchase business insurance policies online. Once you submit the application and see your quote, you will need to wait for an agent to contact you before you can purchase the policy.
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.
“A strong commercial insurance provider offers customizable solutions to fit diverse business needs, robust risk management resources, and expert guidance to help owners make informed decisions,” says Nate Schelhaas, senior vice president and head of the business owner segment at Principal Financial Group. “Companies that prioritize providing education and resources, like complimentary business valuations or offering tools for succession planning, demonstrate their commitment to the long-term success of small business clients.”
When shopping for small business insurance, consider various factors, such as the insurer’s coverage options, discounts, customer satisfaction scores, financial stability ratings, and digital resources. It’s also a good idea to get personalized rate quotes from several insurance providers to find the most affordable policies for your business.
Bottom line
The Hartford, which has been insuring business for over 200 years, offers a great selection of small business insurance policies, including coverage for home-based businesses. The company provides good resources to help customers reduce risk and prevent claims.
The Hartford was rated slightly below the average score for overall customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Small Commercial Insurance Study. Additionally, you can’t purchase policies online.
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.
