The leading affordable general liability insurance companies offer appropriate limits for your business, custom options to tailor it to your industry, high-quality claims and customer service and, of course, cheap general liability insurance. We evaluated over 20 insurance companies on financial stability, policies offered, convenience, and customer satisfaction to find the seven best offering the cheapest general liability insurance for your small business:
- The Hartford: Best overall for cheapest general liability
- Simply Business: Best for comparing quotes
- Next Insurance: Best for customizing general liability
- Thimble: Best for contractors or businesses that need a certificate of insurance (COI)
- FLIP: Best for food trucks and food vendors
- CoverWallet: Best for retailers and restaurants
- biBERK: Best for bundling coverages
Cheapest General Liability Insurance Companies Compared
The Hartford: Best Overall for Cheapest General Liability
The Hartford not only leads our roundup of the best general liability insurance companies, but it is also an excellent choice in terms of cheap general liability insurance. It has a customizable quoting system that lets you adjust liability limits to match your business needs and gives you some control over the price you pay. It also offers in-house claims adjusters who provide a quality experience.
In our evaluation, this provider scored 4.56 out of 5 because of its financial strength and the policies it offers. It would have scored even higher if it were a bit more convenient, with the ability to purchase a policy online without speaking to anyone or a mobile app for commercial lines to manage your policy, create a COI, or file a claim.
Simply Business: Best for Comparing Quotes
Digital insurance brokerage Simply Business scored 4.5 out of 5 in our rubric because of its financial stability, nationwide availability, convenience, and available policies. As a brokerage, it works with approximately 13 different carriers and specializes in drawing on those relationships to bring you multiple quotes. The quotes provide information on the coverage, the provider, and multiple payment plan options.
However, it does lack 24/7 call center support. When looking for affordable general liability coverage, comparing quotes from multiple carriers is a smart way to save money. Another advantage of Simply Business is that you can purchase the policy entirely online without speaking to anyone.
Next: Best for Customizing General Liability
Next Insurance is a direct-to-consumer carrier targeting businesses with one to five employees with a yearly revenue of less than $5 million. Its general liability comes customized to fit specific industries. For instance, a contractor’s general liability policy will come with inland marine, whereas a photographer’s would come with professional liability.
It typically offers three tiers, with each one progressively offering more coverage. Functionally, it is like comparing quotes and picking the best coverage and cost for your needs. As a direct-to-consumer insurer, it sells insurance directly to customers without using an agent, which helps reduce costs. This helps explain why 74% of its customers pay less than $75 monthly for general liability, with nearly 15% paying less than $25 monthly.
In our evaluation, its biggest hit came in customer service, with it being unavailable 24/7 for claims reporting. However, its app does function like a 24/7 call center.
Thimble: Best for Contractors or Businesses That Need a COI
Thimble scored 4.25 out of 5 because of its convenience and the policies offered. Contractors, especially those in construction, understand that having an instant COI and one you can change on the fly is an important part of keeping the project moving forward.
Thimble is our best recommendation for independent contractors and businesses that need to provide a COI because you can customize and share an unlimited number of COIs, at no extra cost, through its app. One way it could have scored higher is if it offered a 24/7 call center for customer support and claims.
FLIP: Best for Food Trucks & Food Vendors
FLIP, or Food Liability Insurance Program, is a specialty provider of general liability for food trucks and other small business food vendors. General liability insurance policies start at $25.92 monthly, making FLIP highly affordable.
It scored 4.25 out of 5 in our evaluation because of its simple and quick process for quoting and building your coverage and its online offerings for managing your policy and creating COIs. It could have earned even higher marks by offering a 24/7 call center.
CoverWallet: Best for Retailers & Restaurants
CoverWallet scored 4.06 out of 5 in our rubric, and the score reflects the convenience in quoting and policy management and its overall availability and financial stability. It specializes in helping businesses in key sectors find insurance, specifically restaurants and retailers. It has partnered with top providers in this industry to bring real-time quotes with coverage already tailored to the industry.
biBERK: Best for Bundling Coverages
biBERK scored 3.87 out of 5 because of its affordability, quick online quotes, and the services it offers, like an instant COI. Its policies come as a standalone offering, but if you bundle coverage, you can save up to 20%. Thus, it is the best general liability insurance company for a business looking to bundle coverage.
For most industries—such as mechanical services, health care providers, restaurants, and retail stores—biBERK offers the ability to bundle general liability with professional liability and commercial property. Bundling insurance policies is a great way to find affordable general liability insurance. Providers will often sell two policies bundled together for less than the cost of each policy on its own.
Its lower score reflects the regional availability of some of its coverage options. On its site, you can find the coverage map for more details.
How We Evaluated Cheap General Liability Insurance Companies
To determine which insurance companies would be the best and most affordable for general liability, we utilized a proprietary evaluation system developed in-house. This system gives special attention to the customer’s needs with a particular interest in convenience, financial ratings (AM Best), customer service, types of policies offered, and the overall experience as a policyholder for a specific provider.
We reviewed over 20 insurance companies and presented the seven with the highest scores. For this guide, we only considered carriers that would provide a quote. Where possible, we tried to keep the company description similar: years in business, number of employees, payroll, and revenue. However, for some companies, we did change the industry.
How To Get Cheap General Liability Insurance
Acquiring the cheapest general liability insurance for small businesses begins with how you run your operation. If you run a safe ship and mitigate risks, that will translate into good claims history. This is important for insurers, especially if your business is part of a risky industry.
The next step to finding cheap general liability insurance is to either work directly with a provider, or carrier, or find a broker that will let you compare quotes from top providers. Many providers who work directly with a customer will offer cheaper insurance because there is no agent or broker fee.
Bundling is always a great way to save money. If your business needs professional liability then look for a carrier that will include that with general liability insurance for a lower price. If your business has property, then consider a business owner’s policy (BOP). It is a combination of property and general liability and is almost always cheaper to buy than each policy on its own.
Finally, before purchasing it, see to it that the policy carries the appropriate level of coverage for your business. Finding affordable general liability insurance means ensuring you aren’t overpaying for coverage but also that your business is not underinsured.
Cheapest General Liability Insurance Costs
The costs of the cheapest general liability insurance for small businesses vary but not significantly among our top providers. All of them publish starting prices for the cost of general liability and we’ve provided them here to give you a general idea.
- The Hartford: $67 monthly or $804 annually
- Simply Business: $19.58 monthly or $24.96 annually
- Next Insurance: $11 monthly or $132 annually
- Thimble: $49 monthly or $588 annually
- FLIP: 25.92 monthly or $311 annually
- CoverWallet: $60 monthly or $720 annually
- biBERK: $27.50 monthly or $330 annually
Bear in mind that these prices represent a starting average from multiple industries, and some of the companies on this list have a larger appetite for riskier industries and larger businesses. For example, Next Insurance, which has the lowest cost on this list, caps revenue for insurable businesses at $5 million, while The Hartford’s cap is significantly higher. However, the prices do give you a good idea of the average price its customers pay for general liability insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Bottom Line
General liability is essential to protect your business from lawsuits for negligence. But as a business owner, you have many expenses, so we researched several companies to find the cheapest general liability insurance policy for your small business. The Hartford is the best overall for cheap general liability insurance.
Visit The Hartford for a Quote
User review references: 1The Hartford 2Trustpilot | Simply Business 3Next Insurance 4eKomi | CoverWallet 5biBERK