Answer a few quick questions about your business and get a recommended list of the coverage types you likely need.
Answer a few questions to see your recommended coverage types. No personal information required.
General indication only. State rules and business structure matter.
Additional coverages that may fit your exposures.
Important: This tool provides an educational recommendation only. Actual coverage requirements depend on your state, industry, and specific client contracts. Consult a licensed commercial insurance broker for guidance specific to your business.
How
This tool matches your business type, employee status, physical assets, and service type to the coverage categories most businesses in a similar situation typically need, distinguishing between what's commonly legally required and what's commonly recommended.
Most small businesses need more than one type of insurance, but not all of them. The right combination depends on your industry, whether you have employees, whether clients visit your premises, and whether you provide professional advice or services.
The tool does not require personal information and does not generate a binding quote.
Factors
Having employees typically triggers a workers' compensation requirement in most states, a coverage type entirely irrelevant to a business with no employees.
A business with a physical location or meaningful equipment generally benefits from property coverage, often through a bundled BOP, while a fully remote business with no physical assets often does not.
Certain industries carry specific risk profiles, such as cyber liability for businesses storing customer data, or professional licensing requirements that mandate specific coverage types.
Businesses providing professional advice or services face a distinct risk, financial harm to a client from that advice, that standard general liability doesn't cover, making professional liability coverage relevant specifically for this category.
Using vehicles for business purposes, whether a dedicated company fleet or an employee's personal vehicle used for deliveries, typically requires commercial auto coverage, since personal auto policies commonly exclude business use.
Why
Insurance requirements vary by state, by specific client contracts, and by professional licensing bodies in ways a general tool cannot fully capture. This tool provides a starting point for the conversation with a licensed broker, not a final determination.
When
Using this tool before speaking with a broker helps you enter that conversation with realistic expectations, understanding the general tradeoffs between coverage types and identifying which policies are legally mandatory versus recommended for your specific risk profile.
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Business Insurance Special
The table below illustrates typical coverage recommendations by business situation.
| Business Situation | Typically Required | Typically Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Home-based, no employees, no clients on-site | None by law in most states | General liability, professional liability if advisory |
| Retail/storefront with employees | Workers' comp | General liability, BOP, commercial property |
| Professional services with employees | Workers' comp | Professional liability, general liability |
| Contractor using vehicles | Workers' comp, commercial auto | General liability, tools/equipment coverage |
Note: Requirements vary by state, client contract, and professional licensing body. Always verify workers’ compensation thresholds specifically with a licensed commercial insurance broker.
It provides general patterns applicable across most small businesses, but specific industries, particularly regulated professions like healthcare or financial services, often have additional coverage requirements this general tool doesn’t capture.
Often yes, in practice. While general liability isn’t legally mandated in most states, commercial landlords and client contracts frequently require it as a condition of doing business, making it effectively necessary even without a legal mandate.
If a client could reasonably claim that your advice, service, or work product caused them financial harm, rather than physical injury or property damage, professional liability is likely relevant, since general liability doesn’t cover that specific type of claim.
If you keep meaningful business inventory or equipment at home, a homeowners policy typically excludes coverage for those business assets, making a business owner’s policy or a specific rider worth considering even for a home-based operation.
This can result in significant state fines, stop-work orders, and in serious cases personal liability for an injured employee’s medical costs, since workers’ compensation violations are enforced at the state level.
Use this tool first to understand which coverage categories are likely relevant to your situation, then request quotes for those specific categories, rather than requesting a general quote and hoping it covers everything your business actually needs.
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