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We're starting a small business that will provide services locally. How do I determine what type of and how much Liability Insurance I need?

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3 Answers

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Talk to other similar (successful) businesses in your area and find out how much they carry. Talk to your attorney and ask what they recommend. Check with your local county/city/state and find out what is required as a minimum.

Between those three you should be able to home in on a good estimate.

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Also, an insurance broker can help you shop against multiple insurers and they have exp. with this type of question. – Michael Pryor Jan 29 '11 at 0:48
Brokers are good for getting the best price, but usually still have a financial incentive to sell you more than you really need (note: usually). If you can find a broker for a flat fee who doesn't take commission from the other end, then yeah, that would also be useful. – Russell Steen Jan 29 '11 at 2:15

If you're talking GL, most are 1m/2m (occurrence, aggregate). If you're leasing office space, they'll likely have their own requirements.

I just went through this exercise and had a really good experience with http://techinsurance.com.

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When shopping for insurance, you need to look at different companies and see what they have to offer. Like any product, it's not only the price that counts but also the quality. When I needed commercial insurance for my business I just ended up calling a bunch of different companies and chose the one that suited me best in terms of what they had to offer me in regards to the price, the value, the plan etc. It's always very important to look at the policy carefully and make sure it's the right one for you.

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