Quick answer
What you pay depends on what you buy. Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $45 a month for general liability, $88 a month for professional liability and $83 a month for a bundled business owner’s policy. Your industry, revenue, location, and limits move the number. The only price that counts is a real one.
“How much will this cost me?” is usually the first insurance question, and it is a fair one. The honest answer is that it depends on your business, but you do not have to fly blind. Below are 2026 average costs by policy type and by business type, what actually moves your price, and the fastest way to get a real number. (Just want the benchmark figures at a glance? See our companion page on the average cost of small business insurance: or, if liability coverage is what you’re pricing, the focused breakdown of the average business liability insurance cost.)
What would your business pay?Change the answers to fit your business. An estimate, not a quote.
Average cost by policy type
These are the national medians Insureon publishes for its small business customers, most of whom have fewer than 5 employees and under $100k in revenue. They are not quotes. Prefer a monthly view by trade? See business insurance cost per month.
| Policy type | Median monthly cost | How prices spread | Median per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| General liability | $45 | 22% pay under $30, 63% under $60 | $542 |
| Professional liability (E&O) | $88 | 43% pay under $75, 71% under $150 | $1,051 |
| Business owner’s policy (BOP) | $83 | 25% pay under $50, 58% under $100 | $996 |
| Workers’ compensation | $54 | 47% pay under $50, 71% under $100 | $643 |
| Cyber liability | $129 | 41% pay under $100 | $1,552 |
| Commercial auto | $245 | 40% pay under $200 | $2,942 |
Insureon’s published national medians for its small business customers; general liability at $1 million / $2 million limits, commercial auto at any limits. Workers’ comp is priced on payroll. Not quotes.
Most very small businesses do not buy everything on this list. A solo consultant might carry only general liability and E&O, while a shop with premises, staff, and a work van will layer on property, workers’ comp, and auto.
2026 rates at a glance
People ask for this number a dozen different ways, so here is the same 2026 answer phrased the way each search asks it (the full benchmark tables live on our average cost of small business insurance page):
- Average business insurance cost: Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $45 a month for general liability and $83 a month for a BOP; your all-in cost depends on how many policies you need.
- Average cost for insurance for a small business: general liability alone has a median of $45 a month; professional liability (E&O) adds its own premium, with a median of $88 a month.
- Average business insurance rates by policy: Insureon’s medians are $45/month for general liability, $88/month for professional liability (E&O), $83/month for a business owner’s policy, and $54/month for workers’ compensation, which is priced on payroll.
- Average BOP insurance cost: a median of $83 a month (25% pay under $50, 58% under $100); the full BOP cost breakdown is below.
- Average cost for small business insurance per year: at Insureon’s medians, $542 for general liability, $643 for workers’ comp and $1,051 for E&O, and paying annually instead of monthly often earns a discount.
Average cost by business type
Risk is priced per trade, so two businesses with identical revenue can pay very different premiums. These are the median monthly premiums Insureon publishes for each type of business:
| Business type | General liability | BOP | E&O | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal trainer or fitness | $29 | $59 | $42 | Low property risk; client-injury liability dominates |
| Massage therapist | $30 | $82 | $42 | Hands-on client work; treatment liability |
| Accountant or bookkeeper | $30 | $60 | $45 | E&O for filing errors and missed deadlines |
| Photographer or videographer | $29 | $47 | not published | Gear value and on-location shoots |
| Consultant | $32 | $61 | $62 | Advice risk: E&O is the main cost |
| Marketing consultant | $30 | not published | $59 | Campaign errors, copyright and E&O exposure |
| Graphic or web designer | not published | not published | $70 | Design errors, copyright and E&O exposure |
| Real estate agent | $33 | $58 | $68 | E&O requirements and transaction volume |
| IT or software developer | $37 | $46 | $110 | Project size; cyber and E&O exposure |
| Event planner | $29 | $42 | $42 | Venue requirements and event-day liability |
| Retail shop | $42 | $95 | not published | Foot traffic, inventory, and product liability |
| Online store (e-commerce) | $42 | $95 | not published | Inventory and product liability |
| Cleaning or janitorial | $48 | $76 | not published | Working in client homes and businesses |
| Landscaping or lawn care | $51 | $94 | not published | Equipment, crews, and property-damage risk |
| Handyman | $81 | $105 | $67 | Varied trades and tool-in-hand jobsite risk |
| General contractor | $162 | not published | not published | Jobsite injury risk; contract insurance requirements |
| Restaurant or café | $141 | $251 | not published | Premises, fire, staff, and liquor liability |
Estimates from Insureon’s published medians for each business type, monthly. “Not published” means Insureon gives no figure for that cover and type, so the national median applies. Not quotes.
Where you work matters too, because rates and requirements are set state by state. For a closer look at how these numbers play out for a specific trade in a specific state, see our guides to professional liability insurance for consultants in Vermont and insurance for massage therapists in Hawaii: both walk through the local licensing rules and what coverage typically costs there.
Cost guides by trade: contractors · handymen · cleaners · landscapers · bookkeepers · photographers · personal trainers · consultants · marketing consultants · real estate agents · software developers · event planners · a new business.
Average business insurance cost by state
Full state guides: Florida · Texas · California · New York · Georgia · Illinois · Ohio · Pennsylvania · North Carolina · Michigan · Washington · Arizona · New Jersey · all 50 states.
Insurance is regulated and priced state by state, so the same business can see meaningfully different premiums across a state line. Even so, Insureon’s published general liability medians sit close together: 38 of the 47 states it publishes fall between $42 and $50 a month, against $45 nationally. The states at either end:
| State | GL median, monthly | Vs. $45 national median |
|---|---|---|
| Maine | $59 | Above |
| Montana | $58 | Above |
| Florida | $55 | Above |
| Colorado | $54 | Above |
| Alabama, Pennsylvania | $53 | Above |
| Texas | $43 | Below |
| New York | $44 | Below |
| Arkansas, California, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming | $42 | Below |
| Minnesota | $41 | Below |
| Illinois | $40 | Lowest |
Insureon’s published general liability medians by state, monthly, at standard $1 million limits. No figure is published for Alaska, Hawaii, South Dakota or Washington. Not quotes.
Want your own state rather than a tier? The full table, general liability and BOP for all 50 states and DC, is in our average business insurance cost by state guide.
State lines change requirements as well as price: contract minimums, workers’-comp thresholds, and licensing rules all vary. A quote form asks for your state up front, so the price it shows you already reflects it.
Average cost by business size
Headcount moves your total faster than almost anything else, because your first hire usually makes workers’ compensation legally required and every hire after that adds payroll-based premium. No source publishes prices by headcount, so the estimator’s figures below come from Insureon’s national medians for a typical small business, with size only choosing which half of the band shows:
| Business size | Estimated monthly total | What’s usually in the package |
|---|---|---|
| Just you, under $100k revenue | $30–$45 | General liability, plus E&O if you give advice; workers’ comp generally not required |
| 2–5 people | $80–$160 | General liability plus workers’ comp |
| 6–10 people | $99–$160, often more | Above plus property/BOP if you have premises |
| 11–25 people | $99–$160, often more | Full package: BOP, workers’ comp, often commercial auto and cyber |
Estimates from Insureon’s published national medians for general liability and workers’ comp. Most of Insureon’s customers have fewer than 5 employees, so larger businesses can pay well above these figures, and workers’ comp rises with payroll. Not quotes.
Three worked examples
Averages get more useful when you see them assembled into a real package. Three illustrative examples, run through the estimator on national figures (your state moves them):
- Solo marketing consultant, home office, ~$90k revenue. E&O ($50–$59) plus general liability ($20–$30), about $70–$89 a month. No employees, so no workers’ comp; no premises, so no property coverage.
- Cleaning business, 3 employees, ~$220k revenue. General liability ($32–$64) and workers’ comp ($126–$252), about $158–$316 a month, plus a janitorial bond if clients require one.
- General contractor, 2 employees and a work van. General liability ($108–$216) and workers’ comp ($148–$296) come to about $256–$512 a month, before commercial auto, where Insureon’s customers pay a median of $245 a month, and tool coverage. Contract minimums, not choice, usually set the limits here.
Advertised starting prices
Averages describe the middle of the market; advertised starting prices tell you the floor. These are the starting prices Hiscox publishes for its core small-business policies, last checked August 2026. Small, low-risk businesses come closest to these numbers:
| Policy | Hiscox advertised starting price | Insureon median |
|---|---|---|
| Professional liability (E&O) | from $22.50/mo | $88/mo |
| General liability | from about $29/mo | $45/mo |
| Business owner’s policy (BOP) | from about $42/mo | $83/mo |
Starting prices as advertised by Hiscox, checked August 2026. Your actual price is set by the insurer during quoting and may be higher.
Hiscox vs the market average
A starting price on its own says very little: the question is what the number buys and how much work it takes to find out whether it applies to you. The table below sets Hiscox, the partner we refer readers to, against the market benchmarks used throughout this page. The right-hand column is the median Insureon publishes for its small business customers, not any single named competitor.
| What you’re comparing | HiscoxOur partner | Typical small-business market |
|---|---|---|
| Professional liability (E&O) | see starting prices above | $88/mo median |
| General liability | see starting prices above | $45/mo median |
| Business owner’s policy | see starting prices above | $83/mo median |
| How you get a price | online form, price shown on screen | online, through a broker, or through an agent |
| What it costs to ask | nothing, and no obligation to buy | nothing; brokers and agents usually ask for contact details |
| Financial strength | A (Excellent), AM Best | varies by carrier |
| What it quotes online | general liability, professional liability and BOP | varies by carrier |
| Where it’s available | 49 states plus Washington DC (not Alaska) | varies by carrier and state |
Hiscox advertised terms, last checked August 2026, against this page’s market benchmarks. Advertised starting prices apply to small, low-risk businesses; your quote is what decides your price.
Every figure above this section is an average, and an average is only ever a sanity check: the number that applies to your business is the one a quote returns. A direct online insurer suits a simple, low-risk business that knows which cover it wants; a broker or local agent can price several insurers at once, which suits businesses with staff, vehicles or higher-risk work.
Average BOP insurance cost
Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $83 a month for a BOP; 25% pay under $50 and 58% under $100. A business owner’s policy costs more than general liability alone because it bundles GL with commercial property coverage, but it is usually cheaper than buying those two policies separately, which is why businesses with premises, inventory, or equipment default to it.
Three things move a BOP premium more than anything else: the value of the property you’re covering (a laptop consultant pays far less than a shop full of inventory), your location’s wind, fire, and crime risk, and your revenue. A home-based business with little equipment often doesn’t need a BOP at all: standalone general liability is the cheaper fit. To see how the $83 BOP median sits alongside every other policy’s average, the average cost of small business insurance page puts them side by side.
Average business liability insurance cost
If liability coverage is the number you’re pricing, here is the short version. Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $45 a month ($542 a year) for general liability, with 22% paying under $30 and 63% under $60. Professional liability (E&O), the liability policy for advice and services, has a median of $88 a month. Businesses that carry both pay for each policy.
| Liability coverage | Median monthly cost | How prices spread | Hiscox starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| General liability | $45 | 22% under $30, 63% under $60 | see table above |
| Professional liability (E&O) | $88 | 43% under $75, 71% under $150 | see table above |
Insureon’s published national medians at standard $1 million per-occurrence limits, beside Hiscox’s advertised starting prices. Not quotes.
Liability premiums track how risky your work looks to an insurer: hands-on trades pay more for general liability, advice-heavy professions pay more for E&O, and higher limits or past claims raise either one. For the full breakdown (averages by profession, what moves the price, and how to pay less) see our dedicated guide to the average business liability insurance cost in 2026. Pricing one specific policy? We break down the average cost of general liability insurance and the average BOP insurance cost line by line.
What drives your price
- Industry and services. Higher-risk or advice-based work generally costs more. A roofer and a bookkeeper with the same revenue will never pay the same premium.
- Revenue and payroll. Bigger operations carry more exposure, and workers’ comp is priced directly off payroll.
- Employees. Each hire adds workers’ comp cost and, in most states, makes the coverage legally required.
- Coverage and limits. The standard small-business limit is $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate. Higher limits raise the premium, though not by much: Insureon’s customers who choose $2 million / $4 million pay a median of $46 a month against $45. A higher deductible lowers it.
- Location. Rates vary meaningfully by state, and property risk (wind, fire, crime) moves the price of anything that includes property coverage.
- Claims history. A clean record keeps you in the cheaper tiers; recent claims can raise premiums for three to five years.
How to lower your premium
- Bundle into a BOP. Combining general liability and property in a business owner’s policy is usually cheaper than buying them separately, and multi-policy discounts can shave a little more.
- Raise your deductible. The premium drops when you take on more of the small-claim risk.
- Pay annually. Many insurers charge less for one annual payment than twelve monthly ones.
- Buy only what you need. A home-based solo business rarely needs commercial property; skip coverages that don’t match a real exposure.
- Re-quote yearly. Rates change. The easiest way to see all of these levers is to run a quote and adjust the options.
Where these numbers come from
The medians on this page are the ones Insureon publishes from the policies its small business customers buy, most of whom have fewer than 5 employees and under $100k in revenue (full list of sources). The starting prices are the ones Hiscox publishes on its own site, which we last checked in August 2026. For background on what each coverage does and when it’s required, the Insurance Information Institute’s small business guide and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s insurance guide are the standard references. The figures here describe typical small businesses with standard limits: treat them as a planning benchmark, not a price. The only number that applies to your business is the one on a real quote.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost of small business insurance?
Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $45 a month for general liability and $83 a month for a business owner’s policy. A solo business buying a single policy often pays less. Adding professional liability or property coverage puts you higher.
How much is general liability insurance?
Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $45 a month for general liability, and 63% pay under $60. Your price depends on industry, revenue, and limits.
How much does professional liability (E&O) cost?
Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $88 a month; 43% pay under $75 and 71% under $150. Advice-heavy or higher-revenue work can cost more. A quote is the only accurate figure.
How much does a business owner’s policy (BOP) cost?
Insureon’s median is $83 a month, since it bundles general liability with commercial property. Businesses with little equipment can pay less; property-heavy businesses pay more.
How much is insurance for an LLC with no employees?
A single-member LLC usually needs only general liability and possibly E&O. Insureon’s medians are $45 a month for general liability and $88 for E&O, and a one-person business under $100k usually sits in the lower half of the range. With no employees, workers’ comp is generally not required.
What are average business insurance rates in 2026?
Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $45 a month for general liability, $88 for professional liability (E&O), and $83 for a BOP. Advertised starting prices for small, low-risk businesses sit lower.
How much does business insurance cost per year?
At Insureon’s published medians, about $542 a year for general liability, $643 for workers’ comp and $1,051 for E&O. Paying annually instead of monthly often earns a discount.
Which states have the cheapest business insurance?
In Insureon’s published figures, Illinois ($40 a month) and Minnesota ($41) have the lowest general liability medians, followed by twelve states at $42, including California, Ohio and North Carolina, against $45 nationally. Maine ($59), Montana ($58), Florida ($55) and Colorado ($54) have the highest.
How can I lower my business insurance cost?
Raise your deductible, bundle two or more coverages, pay annually, keep your claims history clean, and only buy what your business needs.
How much does workers’ compensation cost per employee?
Insureon’s small business customers pay a median of $54 a month for workers’ compensation, and 47% pay under $50. It is priced on payroll, so payroll and job type set the real number.
Is small business insurance tax deductible?
Generally yes: premiums for ordinary business coverage such as general liability, professional liability, and workers’ comp are typically deductible as a business expense. Confirm your specific situation with a tax professional.
How long does it take to get a business insurance quote?
It depends on the route. A direct online insurer such as Hiscox asks what your business does, which state you’re in, roughly your annual revenue, and how many people work there, and shows a price on screen. A broker or agent can take longer because they price several insurers. Whichever route you use, having the revenue figure to hand before you start helps.
Is Hiscox cheaper than the average small business insurer?
On advertised starting prices, yes: they sit below Insureon’s medians of $88 for E&O and $45 for general liability. Those are floors for small, low-risk businesses, not everyone’s price: trade, revenue, state and limits all move it, which is why a quote is the only figure that settles it.
How much does business insurance cost for a brand-new business?
Usually the bottom of the range. Premiums are priced off revenue and payroll, and a new business has little of either: a one-person business under $100k sits in the lower half of the band, which puts general liability at about $30 to $45 a month on Insureon’s national figures. The figure rises as revenue does, not on a fixed schedule.
Do sole proprietors need business insurance?
No law requires it federally, but a sole proprietor has no corporate shield: a liability claim reaches personal assets directly. Insureon’s customers pay a median of $45 a month for general liability, and many find they need it anyway: clients and landlords routinely ask for a certificate before signing.
How much does $1 million in liability insurance cost?
The $45-a-month general liability median on this page is for a $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate policy, the limit 85% of Insureon’s customers choose and the one most client contracts ask for. The 8% who choose $2 million / $4 million pay a median of $46 a month. Our $1 million liability insurance cost guide prices the $1M/$2M, $2M/$4M and umbrella options by trade, size and state.
Get a real price
These figures are estimates. Only an insurer can give you a real price.
Direct online insurer
Fill in a form and see a price on screen. Best for simple businesses.
Example: Hiscox. Rated A (Excellent) by AM Best. Sold in 49 states and DC.
Hiscox pays us when you get a quote. It does not change your price.
Online broker or marketplace
One form, several insurers compared. Best if you want more than one price.
Local independent agent
Talk it through by phone or in person. Best for higher-risk businesses.
Find an independent agent near you (free directory, no payment to us)
Disclaimer: Informational only, not insurance advice or a substitute for a licensed agent. Coverage descriptions are summaries; policy terms govern. Availability and pricing vary by state and business; all averages and ranges shown are illustrative benchmarks, not quotes or offers. Hiscox is available in 49 states and DC, not Alaska.