Business Is Personal.
So Is Insurance.
Get business insurance through a RamseyTrusted® pro who cares about your small business like you do. Plug in your zip code below to connect with a pro in your area and get started.
What Is Business Insurance?
Business (or commercial) insurance protects your company from risks like theft, injuries on the job, lawsuits, health care costs, cyberattacks, disasters and other unexpected events. It can help cover or at least offset some of the costs when bad things happen.
Who Are RamseyTrusted Pros?
RamseyTrusted pros are your trusted guides to insurance—vetted experts who have your best interests at heart. They’ll shop the insurance market to find discounts and deals for you at no extra cost, saving you time and money. And when it comes to protecting what matters, they make sure you’ve got the coverage you need—and nothing you don’t.
What Business Insurance Covers
Every business faces different risks—which means your insurance coverage should fit your needs. Here are the most common types of coverage that can help you protect what matters most: your business, your team and your future.
General Liability Insurance
General liability covers things like property damage, legal costs, medical expenses and bodily injury. If you own a business, you need general liability coverage. Period.
Professional Liability Insurance
This is also called errors and omissions insurance. It covers you if you’re in the professional-service industry (think consulting or accounting).
Product Liability Insurance
This protects your business if a product you make, sell or distribute causes harm. If someone gets hurt and sues, it helps cover legal and medical costs.
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)
This is a great place to start if you own a small business. It’s a bundled policy that usually includes at least general liability and property insurance. It’s also a great way to save!
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance covers any vehicles you use to operate your business.
Cyber Insurance
It takes care of costs related to data hacks and leaked customer information. Running your business on cloud storage or servers? This is a great way to fight against digital threats.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation coverage protects you if one of your employees gets injured on the job. It covers medical costs or lost wages due to time off.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance is exactly what it sounds like—it protects your physical assets and property. This includes things like tools, inventory in your store, equipment and even furniture.
The Different Types of
Business Insurance
Like people, businesses are unique. Unique needs. Unique industry risks. Unique revenue streams. Unique everything!
That’s why there’s no one-size-fits-all business insurance package. There are a ton of different types of business insurance coverages you can mix and match.
In this article, we’ll go over what’s out there so you can get the coverage you need.
What’s It Like Working With a Pro?
Get Connected
Choose the insurance you’re looking for and match with a RamseyTrusted insurance pro.
Get Quotes
Your pro will give you a call within 24 hours and ask for
basic information.
Get Insured
They’ll shop home and auto insurance quotes from multiple carriers to find you the right policy at the best price.
RamseyTrusted connects you with insurance pros who don’t just sell—they serve. These are independent providers who’ve earned our seal by going through a strict vetting process and committing to the same values we teach. You can feel confident knowing we’ve already done the homework so you don’t have to figure insurance out alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
About The Pros
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What’s a RamseyTrusted Agent?
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RamseyTrusted agents are insurance pros we trust to serve our customers. They’re licensed insurance agents who live and work all over the country. They partner with Ramsey because they believe the same thing we do: that getting the right commercial insurance coverage is an important part of protecting your financial future.
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Are these agents independent, or do they work for a specific company?
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Independent. They can compare business insurance and commercial auto insurance quotes from multiple local and national insurers to find you the best coverage.
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Why work with agents Ramsey recommends?
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They’re reliable, so they’ll be there when you need them. And they’ve got the heart of a teacher, so they’ll actually help you understand your business insurance.
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Does working with an agent cost extra?
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Nope! You just pay your insurance premium like normal—no catch, no extra costs.
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Do I need to choose an agent who specializes in my industry?
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Sometimes—but not always. It’s actually more important that you have experience in your industry. Even if you’re starting your own business and getting insured for the first time, you’ll get better insurance rates if you can show that you’ve worked for other companies in the same industry in the past.
You may need to find an agent who specializes in your field if you own a company that has a lot of unique risks or regulations—like a horse boarding business or high-rise construction company.
But regardless of your industry, your main goal is to find an insurance agent who knows their industry. That’s why we only recommend RamseyTrusted agents—because they’re experts in the insurance industry. They’ll help teach you how to understand your business insurance policies, and they’ll ask the right questions to get the right coverage.
About Business Insurance
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What is business insurance?
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Business insurance, also known as commercial insurance, is any type of insurance policy that helps protect your business from big, unexpected expenses that could spell disaster for your company.
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What’s the difference between business insurance and commercial insurance?
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Not much. People use both business insurance and commercial insurance to talk about any type of insurance that helps you protect your business.
The one exception: When you’re talking about insuring vehicles you use for your business, the correct term is always commercial auto insurance. (We know—it’s weird.)
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Are business insurance and general liability insurance the same?
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No. Some people call general liability insurance “business insurance,” but they’re actually different. Business insurance refers to all types of coverage related to your business, like professional liability or commercial auto insurance. General liability insurance is a type of business insurance.
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What types of business insurance are there?
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Just like there are all kinds of businesses, there are all kinds of commercial insurance. We already covered the main types, but here are some specialties you might run into:
- Home-based business insurance: You can get this insurance as a rider on your homeowners policy to cover additional expenses if you’re unable to work in your home due to a disaster.
- Inland marine insurance: No, it doesn’t have anything to do with boats. It covers products you transport over land or store away from your shop, like in a warehouse.
- Rideshare insurance: When you drive for a ridesharing service, the insurance they offer and your personal auto policy might not be enough. This coverage makes up the difference.
- Employment practices liability: This insurance helps cover legal fees and damages if an employee sues you over discrimination or unfair hiring or firing practices.
- Crime insurance: Helps cover the costs of embezzlement, theft, fraud, forgery or other crimes an employee or third-party commits against your business
- Commercial umbrella insurance: Similar to regular umbrella insurance, commercial umbrella insurance goes above and beyond the liability limits on your other business insurance policies to give you extra protection.
- Excess and surplus lines (E&S) insurance: Standard business insurance policies won’t cover certain types of businesses if they think you’re at a higher-than-normal risk of lawsuits, employee injuries or other disasters. E&S insurance covers those high-risk businesses, like daycare centers or tree trimmers.
- Industry-specific insurance: If you work in certain industries, you may need additional types of liability coverage, like these:
- Liquor liability insurance (aka Dram Shop insurance)
- Landlord insurance if you own an apartment or commercial real estate
- Auto mechanic insurance (aka auto service/repair shop insurance)
- Contractor’s insurance if you run a construction company
P.S. Don’t forget about your employees! If you’re planning to offer insurance as a benefit for employees, you may need to include:
- Health insurance
- Life insurance (just make sure it’s term life—none of that crummy whole life garbage)
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Why do I need business insurance?
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Business insurance protects you financially if something catastrophic happens—like if a tornado tears through your warehouse, your company-owned vehicle is involved in an accident, or someone sues you. It’ll help cover all kinds of crazy costs so you can get back to work.
Without business insurance, your company has to pay those costs. That means one natural disaster, lawsuit or injured employee could bankrupt your business and spell the end of your dreams.
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What if I’m a sole proprietor? Do I still need it then?
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Yep! Maybe even more than a corporation.
As a sole proprietor, you are the company. So you’re personally responsible for paying all the costs if disaster strikes. Don’t have the money? It won’t just be your business going under. Your personal assets—like your house and savings—will be at risk too. Business insurance helps protect your business and you financially.
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What is commercial auto insurance, and how is it different from regular car insurance?
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Commercial auto insurance offers all the same coverages as regular car insurance—liability, collision and comprehensive—but it’s only for vehicles you use for business purposes.
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What types of business vehicles will commercial auto insurance cover?
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Commercial auto insurance covers any type of vehicle you own, lease or hire to run your business. That includes service vans, delivery vehicles, tow trucks, dump trucks, food trucks, semitrucks, and even ordinary cars or SUVs that are used solely for your business. It’ll also cover trailers you use to haul business equipment or products.
Using your personal car to drive for a ridesharing service? You’ll want to look into ridesharing insurance.
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What type of business insurance do I need?
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That depends entirely on the type of business you run. Some business owners just need a classic BOP (that’s Business Owner’s Policy, for long) to cover general liability and commercial property. But you may need other types of commercial insurance if you use commercial vehicles, handle sensitive customer information, have employees, or work in a specialized industry.
A RamseyTrusted agent can help you decide which types of business insurance are right for your business.
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How much does business insurance cost?
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The cost of business insurance depends on the type and amount of coverage you need. More insurance means higher premiums. But remember, the important question isn’t, “Can I afford business insurance?” The really important question is, “Can I afford not to have business insurance?” And you already know the answer to that question is a big, hairy no.
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Do I need business insurance for my side hustle?
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Maybe. If your side hustle is super low risk—like doing graphic design for small businesses—you probably don’t need business insurance. But if your side hustle involves something like working on people’s cars or selling food that you made, you need liability coverage at the very least. You may also need business insurance if you’re working with kids or animals, processing payment info, or using your personal home or vehicle for work.