5 best small business insurance companies

One aspect of owning a small business that often falls through the cracks is getting small business insurance. However, being properly insured is key to your business’s survival, similar to how having homeowners insurance is pivotal in protecting your home.

It only takes one mistake or lawsuit to result in a huge liability you may not be able to pay. Rather than watch your business disappear, you can get liability insurance to insure against many possible negative events.

While business insurance does cost money upfront, you pay the cost to spread out the risk. This way, the cost is more affordable over time. In the more rare case you’re hit with a significant liability due to an error or injury, the proper type of insurance should cover you up to the limits you chose as long as you’re following the rules in the policy.

Knowing where to get small business insurance and what policies to get can be overwhelming for someone that hasn’t ever looked into it before. For that reason, I put together this list of the best small business insurance companies to help you get started. 

These companies can help walk you through what types of insurance you need and how to get started.

Overview of the best small business insurance companies

The best small business insurance company is the one that can meet your business’s insurance needs while providing great customer service and reasonable prices.

The best insurance company will meet your business where it is at, whether you are worried about specific professional liability insurance like cyber liability or just general liability. Here are a few companies you may want to check out.

Progressive Commercial

Progressive is well known for its personal auto insurance and other insurance policies. They sell business insurance through Progressive Commercial, too. They have many varieties of business auto insurance including:

• Tow truck.
• Truck.
• Dump truck.
• Van.
• Food truck. 

They also sell standard business insurance options such as:

• General liability insurance and professional liability insurance.
• Workers compensation insurance.
• Contractors.
• Business owners policy.
• Cyber insurance.

To get a quote, you can fill out their online quote tool, find a local agent to contact, or call their toll-free number to talk to an expert. While your personal business insurance cost will vary, Progressive does say that last year (in 2019), the average cost of a 12-month business insurance policy through Progressive ranged from $46 a month for professional liability to $85 a month for workers’ compensation.

Learn more about Progressive or read our full review. 

Nationwide

Nationwide focuses on insuring both regular small businesses and farm small businesses. In fact, they’re the number one farm and ranch insurer and number one in customer satisfaction with small commercial insurance.

They offer many policy types including:

• Business owners policy.
• Business auto.
• Workers’ compensation.
• Business property, and more.

Progressive Commercial provides an easy way to view insurance options by the type of small business you run, such as photography, consulting, or contractors.

You can start a quote online or find a business agent to get your quote moving, as your personal cost will vary depending on the type of insurance you’re looking for. 

Learn more about Nationwide or read our full review. 

State Farm

You’re likely familiar with State Farm’s personal insurance options, but the company offers small business insurance, too. Like with their personal insurance, State Farm uses a network of agents to provide service to its customers.

To get a small business insurance quote, you’ll have to find a local State Farm agent first. Your experience will likely be determined by how knowledgeable and responsive your local agent is. For people who find it important to have a face to face relationship with their insurance agent, State Farm definitely provides this.

State Farm sells several types of small business insurance including:

• Business owner policies.
• Business and commercial auto insurance.
• Individual health.
• Commercial and professional liability insurance.
• Worker’s compensation.

They also offer other types of business insurance that they’ll explore with you as your company grows and needs new coverages.

Learn more about State Farm. 

The Hartford

If you’re looking for an insurance company to get a quick online quote, The Hartford may be a good option for you. You only have to fill out a few screens of information to get an initial quote. That said, you should talk to an agent to make sure you have all of the coverage you need.

The Hartford offers several types of business insurance policies. These include:

• Business owner policies.
• Business property.
• General liability.
• Business income.
• Commercial auto.
• Data breach insurance, and more.

They also sell specialized insurance types depending on your industry. 

They very well could provide all of the business insurance options your small business needs. This would make it easier to track your insurance costs and any claims you may have to file.

The Hartford doesn’t make it easy to see how to get in touch with them if you have questions, but you can still do so. Options include finding a local agent you can talk to or calling their toll-free phone number by navigating to the appropriate pages on their website. 

Learn more about The Hartford.

Chubb

Chubb is a worldwide insurance company that could help you meet your small business insurance needs for international coverage. They have operations in 54 countries and territories and have 44 branch locations in the United States.

They display their insurance options in two main ways. First, they list the industries they support and the insurance options they sell to those industries. If you prefer to shop by insurance category, they display the wide variety of policy types they offer, too.

To give you an idea of what products they offer, some include:

• Accident and health.
• Commercial general liability.
• Cyber liability insurance.
• Environmental.
• Medical liability.
• Product recall.
• Professional liability.

Unfortunately, getting a quote through Chubb is a bit more difficult. Their website only refers you to an independent agent near you. There isn’t an option to get quotes online or over the phone.

For this reason, you may be best off checking to see if they provide the type of insurance you need. Then, contact an agent to get help understanding the specific options and coverages of the policies they sell.

Learn more about Chubb.

How I came up with this list

To come up with this list, I looked at a variety of small business insurance companies and picked a handful that offered a variety of options for different small businesses. I looked at the companies’ histories, the types of insurance they sell, the ways you can get quotes, their customer service rankings, and their financial stability.

Due to the wide variety of businesses and their different needs, you may find one insurer provides a better option for you. Another business may find a separate insurance company works better for them. That’s why you should always shop around and why I chose a wide variety of best small business insurance companies.

What is the cost of small business insurance?

Small business insurance coverage prices vary drastically based on many factors. Some of the most influential factors include:

• The type of insurance you purchase.
• How much coverage you purchase.
• The specific attributes and history of your business.
• The risk to the insurance company.
• The location of your business.
• The business’s claim history.

Some policies could be relatively inexpensive at just a few hundred or thousands of dollars per year. Others could be much more expensive.

How do you keep your small business insurance costs low?

As a small business owner trying to keep expenses under control, keeping insurance costs low is a valid concern. You can save money by shopping around to find the best prices on the insurance coverage you need. 

Just make sure that any policy you purchase covers what you think it does. Policies can vary from company to company. A policy with a lower price may come with less coverage.

If you have several small business insurance policies, you may get a price break by keeping them all with one insurer. Check with your agent to see if you get any discounts for consolidating your policies with one insurer.