A business owners policy BOP is an affordable way to get essential coverage for a small business. General liability insurance, commercial property insurance and business interruption insurance are all included in a BOP. Lucy Lazarony is a personal finance writer and journalist.
Prior to freelance writing, she worked as a staff writer for Bankrate for seven years. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida and spent a summer as an international intern at Richmond, The American University in London. She lives in South Florida. Select Region. United States. United Kingdom. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Lucy Lazarony. Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
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Though best known for auto and home insurance, State Farm has about products including financial services, banking, and commercial insurance. State Farm also offers business insurance that is designed specifically for certain industries such as contractors, professional services, restaurants, and retailers. In addition to business coverage , State Farm offers discounts for policyholders who combine certain types of coverage, though discounts vary based on the types of coverage being bundled.
The discounts are not for bundling business coverage. However, if you're happy with your State Farm business coverage, you could get home and auto coverage from them and save. Every State Farm agency is independently owned, so every agent understands the unique needs of small business owners—they are business owners themselves. Hiscox wins the top spot for independent contractors because they have products designed and priced specifically for independent contractors and freelancers. Although the parent company Hiscox Group is based in Bermuda, the U.
Hiscox does business in 14 countries and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, although it's small business insurance is not available in Alaska. The company boasts coverage for many industries and policy types. We chose Nationwide as our best general liability provider because the company is a business insurance carrier that focuses on simple, straightforward insurance solutions, which is ideal for businesses with high-risk, general liability needs.
The name was changed to Nationwide in during its efforts to expand coverage to all states from coast to coast.
There are agents in every state except Hawaii and Alaska. These plans drastically lower the chances of over- or under-paying premiums because costs are based on actual payroll instead of projections.
The Hartford was founded in as a fire insurance company. Since then, the company has grown into a Fortune company that serves over half a million small business customers. The Hartford offers many types of business insurance including general liability, BOPs, commercial auto, commercial flood, data breach coverage, commercial umbrella, business income, and professional liability coverage.
The company also advertises more than 20 industry specialties including arborists, pet groomers, restaurants, printing, and publishing. In addition, The Hartford offers many other policyholder benefits including:. We chose Travelers as our best commercial property insurer because the company has developed extensive experience in the space, having been ranked the top commercial property insurance company in the United States by premiums written for multiple years and narrowly coming in second place in Number-two commercial property insurer in the U.
Travelers is another storied company with a history that stretches back to , when one of its founders started writing accident insurance for two-cent premiums. Travelers has insurance solutions that are designed to meet the needs of companies in more than 20 industries including transportation, manufacturing, construction, retail, and public entities. However, the company has developed considerable expertise in commercial property insurance.
In fact, the company writes so much property insurance that it ranked as the number-one writer of commercial property insurance in the United States, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Because Travelers operates in the U. We chose Liberty Mutual as the best insurer for BOPs because the company has a fast and easy process with a streamlined business owner's policy available for many different industries that combine coverage in one cost-effective policy.
Resources Small business. Start your quote. When calculating the amount of insurance you plan to buy, consider a number of key questions: What type of business do you have? How big is your business? Who are your customers?
Where is your business located? How many employees do you have? How experienced are your employees? Where is your business housed? Do you have sole proprietorship? Note : If your LLC offers a professional service such as accounting, legal advice, web design, etc. This will protect your business against malpractice claims and other covered risks. The amounts above are for estimation purposes only.
If you want an accurate cost of what general liability insurance would cost for your LLC, you will need to get a quote from an insurance agent. The only way to get an accurate number for your individual needs is to get a quote. An effective way to lower your premiums is to employ risk management procedures. Your agent should have information on how to improve these procedures for your business.
A business that follows proper processes will inherently lower the risk of an insurance claim. There are, however, other tangible benefits of your LLC carrying liability insurance. Having a general liability insurance policy also:. If your business owns real estate or other valuable assets, general liability insurance is a highly recommended investment. Liability insurance can protect your business from the financial burden of litigation, which can easily cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Considering the comparatively low cost of premiums, a general liability insurance policy is a small price to pay for the protection and peace of mind it offers.
Commercial general liability insurance is considered "comprehensive coverage", but is not a one-size-fits-all policy.
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