Best General Liability Insurance for Small Businesses

Thimble earned the highest MoneyGeek score, making it the best company overall for small business general liability insurance. It received a high score for fast quote time, superior financial strength and affordable average rates. This carrier’s average monthly general liability business insurance rates are $22 for sole proprietors and $66 for LLCs.

The table below shows the companies we analyzed for best general liability insurance with costs and ranked by MoneyGeek score.

If you have employees, Nationwide may be the right fit for your general liability business insurance needs. It ranks as the best general liability insurance for LLCs with 20 employees. Nationwide’s average monthly cost for LLCs with 20 employees is $47.

For businesses with no employees, consider biBERK for general liability business insurance. This company has the cheapest general liability insurance rates for sole proprietors without employees at $25 per month. It also has an excellent financial strength rating and a lower-than-average number of customer complaints.

For businesses that place a high degree of importance on customer satisfaction, The Hartford may be the best general liability insurer to consider for small business insurance. Based on the data we collected from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint index, this company gets far fewer complaints than industry competitors.

The average monthly cost for LLCs is $67, whereas sole proprietors pay an average of $28, according to our analysis of general liability insurance for small businesses. Quotes are based on no prior claims history or employees for a sole proprietor with $500,000 in revenue, while the LLC profile has 20 employees with $1.25 million in payroll costs and $5 million in annual revenue.

Insurance companies use multiple factors to determine general liability insurance costs, including:

• Policy limits: The more coverage you need, the more you’ll pay for general liability insurance. Choosing a higher deductible can offset premium costs but require that you pay more out of pocket if you file a claim.
• Industry: The riskier the industry you do business in, the more your cost for general liability insurance will be.
• Business location: Your main business location ZIP code can also affect insurance costs. Areas with a higher risk of crime and weather events or with greater population density typically pay for more general liability insurance.
• Number of employees and payroll costs: More employees and higher payroll costs provide greater risk to the insurance company, which can increase your cost of general business liability insurance.
• Claims history: Using risk management to promote a safe workplace can reduce your claims exposure, which can help you save on small business insurance. If you have prior claims, however, your cost of insurance coverage will increase.

When deciding on the best general liability insurance for your small business, there are several factors to consider. Evaluating your business insurance needs and comparing quotes and customer experience data from each company can help you determine which company offers the best general liability business insurance for you.

Reviewing a company’s customer satisfaction ratings and reviews can help you get a feel for how the company will treat you as a customer.

Although you can check customer reviews on the insurance company’s website, they might not provide the complete picture and may be skewed as favorably for the insurer. Explore third-party online reviews to get an idea of how the company treats current and past customers, especially throughout the claims process.

Organizations like the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) can also give you valuable information. The NAIC customer complaint index is 1.00. Figures above 1.00 mean the company has higher-than-average complaints compared to industry competitors, while a lower score means the company has fewer-than-average customer complaints. The fewer complaints, the more customers are satisfied with the service the insurance company provides, making it a better option for smooth transactions with an easy and satisfactory claims process.

Each business has different needs for general liability insurance. For example, if you only need coverage for a short time, Thimble may be of interest, as it provides short-term policies. Competitors typically only offer 12-month policies.

If you work in a high-risk industry, like general contracting, or have many employees, your coverage needs are usually greater than a sole proprietor or low-risk industry business.

Although online quote tools can help you get a fast price, they might not provide information on the coverage you truly need. It may be beneficial to speak with an insurance agent knowledgeable about your industry to guide you on what coverage limits and policy types are best for your business.

Comparison shopping can be critical, as rates for general liability insurance vary significantly by insurance company, business structure, industry and number of employees. Putting in the extra time to evaluate your coverage needs and what each insurance company offers could save you thousands of dollars on general liability business insurance coverage.

Online general business insurance quotes allow you to get rates from multiple companies quickly, making it easier to compare them. Just make sure you’re getting quotes for the same coverage limits and deductible amount so that you can get an accurate comparison across all companies.

Thimble is our overall choice for the best general liability insurance for small businesses, with fast quote speeds, cheap rates and superior financial strength. MoneyGeek used several factors to determine which companies offer the best general liability insurance for small businesses. These factors include affordability, customer satisfaction, financial strength and online quote time.

If you still have questions, reviewing the answers to the most frequently asked questions about general liability business insurance can help.

Why Trust MoneyGeek?
We collected 1,229 general liability insurance quotes and analyzed cost information alongside customer satisfaction and financial stability reports to determine the best general liability insurance for small businesses.

We created a unique scoring system to compare business insurance companies across five metrics and ranked companies based on their scores. We chose these companies based on their broad national coverage and ability to provide an online quote.

Each company’s score incorporates:

• Customer satisfaction data based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) customer complaint index. We reviewed annual complaint data from 2019 to 2021.
• Financial stability ratings from AM Best to evaluate financial strength.
• Cost data obtained through online quotes. We collected the monthly and yearly cost of a general liability policy with a $2 million aggregate limit, $1 million occurrence limit and $0 deductible.
• Convenience and speed, measured by how many minutes it took to complete an online application and receive a quote from each company.

We gathered quotes for two types of software development companies:

• An LLC with five years in business, 20 employees, $5 million in annual revenue and $1,250,000 in annual payroll costs.
• A sole proprietorship with five years in business, no employees, $500,000 in annual revenue and no payroll costs.

Scoring Methodology

We applied the following weightings to each metric to score individual insurers:

• Affordability for LLCs: 30%
• Affordability for sole proprietors: 30%
• Customer satisfaction: 20%
• Financial stability: 15%
• Online quote process: 5%

Companies could earn up to five points in each category. We then used a calculation to create a maximum score of 100.