About $45 a month
General liability, all industries
Insureon median for its small-business customers, updated March 30, 2026
Coverage guide
General liability insurance
For businesses that serve customers, work on client property or sign leases and contracts: what the policy pays for, what it costs and the minimum limits you may be required to carry.
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Get general liability insurance quotes
What similar businesses pay
- General liability, all industries
- About $45 a month
- General liability, all industries
- About $68 a month
- Business consultants
- About $35 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What general liability insurance costs
About $68 a month
General liability, all industries
The Hartford customer average ($810 a year), updated May 20, 2026
About $35 a month
Business consultants
NEXT customer average by profession, data updated April 2026
About $210 a month
General contractors
NEXT customer average by profession, data updated April 2026
Most small businesses pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year. Insureon’s customers pay a median of $45 a month: 22% pay under $30 and 41% pay $30–$60, with annual premiums from $265 to $3,030, and 85% choose limits of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. The Hartford reports an average of $810 a year. Risk drives the spread: NEXT’s customer averages run from $20 a month for personal trainers and $35 for consultants to $120 for electricians, $210 for general contractors and $245 for restaurants. An office-based firm should expect the low end; a trade working on job sites or a business with heavy foot traffic should budget several times the median.
What moves your price
- Industry and class code: job-site trades, restaurants and auto repair pay far more than office-based firms.
- Location: Insureon’s state medians range from $42 a month in California to $55 in Florida.
- Limits and deductible: most buyers choose $1 million / $2 million with a $500–$1,000 deductible.
- Revenue, payroll and number of employees, which insurers use to measure exposure.
- Premises size and condition, and how many customers visit.
- Claims history and years of experience in the trade.
Who it’s for
Who needs general liability insurance
A customer is hurt at your location
A visitor trips on loose flooring or slips in a spill and sues for medical bills and lost income. This is the core reason storefronts, offices that host clients and anyone renting commercial space buy the policy.
You damage a client’s property
The Insurance Information Institute’s example: an employee of a painting or construction business leaves water running and floods a customer’s home. Cleaners, IT installers, landscapers and contractors face this on every job.
Finished work fails later
A newly installed water heater leaks weeks after the job and ruins the floors. The products-completed operations part of the policy responds, which is why licensing boards and general contractors insist trades carry it.
A product you sell causes harm
Retailers, food businesses, manufacturers and online sellers can be sued over a defective product, food contamination or a labeling error even when they did not make the item.
An advertising or reputation claim
A competitor alleges your ad copied its campaign, or a former client says a post defamed them. The Insurance Information Institute lists a class action alleging misleading advertising among the claims a business can face.
A lease, license or contract requires it
Landlords, lenders and clients often ask for a certificate of insurance before you sign, and several states set liability minimums as a condition of a contractor license.
Coverage
What general liability insurance covers
Bodily injury and property damage
Coverage A pays for injuries to people outside your business and damage to their property arising from your premises or operations, which can include mental injury and emotional distress.
Products and completed operations
Covers injury or damage caused by a product you sell or make, or by work after you finish it, such as a fixture that fails after installation.
Personal and advertising injury
Coverage B responds to libel, slander, false arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction or invasion of privacy, copyright infringement in your ads and use of another’s advertising idea.
Medical payments
Coverage C pays small medical bills for a non-employee hurt on your premises or by your operations without anyone proving fault, which settles minor claims before they become lawsuits. Insureon puts typical limits around $5,000.
Legal defense
The insurer usually pays your defense costs and any settlement or judgment for a covered claim, up to the policy limits.
Hired and non-owned auto add-on
An endorsement that covers liability when employees use personal, rented or leased vehicles for work. It does not replace commercial auto for vehicles your business owns.
Umbrella limits above the policy
A commercial umbrella adds liability limits above general liability and commercial auto when a contract or a large claim needs more than the underlying limits.
What it doesn’t cover
- Damage to or theft of your own building, equipment or inventory (commercial property or a BOP covers these).
- Injuries to your employees, which workers’ compensation covers.
- Vehicles your business owns or primarily uses for work.
- Mistakes in professional advice or services, which professional liability covers.
- Harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination claims by employees.
- Liquor liability, pollution and data breaches unless added by endorsement or a separate policy.
- Property in your care, custody or control, such as a customer’s item you are repairing.
- Intentional injury or damage.
Rules
Requirements and filings
No federal law requires general liability, but state contractor licensing rules, public contracts, leases and loans often do. These are examples; check the rule for your own license and state.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Florida contractor license: general and building contractors | Certified or registered Florida general and building contractors | $300,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage, maintained continuously for the life of the license (Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G4-15.003). |
| Florida contractor license: residential and specialty contractors | Residential, roofing, plumbing, air conditioning, pool and most specialty contractors | $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage (Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G4-15.003). |
| Texas responsible master plumber | Master plumbers acting as the responsible master plumber for a business | Commercial general liability of at least $300,000 for all claims in any one-year period, on file with the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. |
| Washington contractor registration | Contractors registering or reregistering in Washington | $50,000 for property damage, $100,000 for injury to one person and $200,000 for injury to more than one person (RCW 18.27.050). |
| Federal contracts on a government installation | Fixed-price federal contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold with work on the installation | Bodily injury liability of at least $500,000 per occurrence (FAR 28.310, 28.306 and 28.307-2). |
| Commercial leases, loans and client contracts | Tenants, borrowers and vendors | Landlords, lenders and clients often require proof of general liability before you sign; the contract sets the limits and any additional insured wording. |
Compare general liability insurance options.
One application, quotes from several insurers, reviewed by a licensed agent. Start with your email and finish later if you need to.
Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Bundle general liability with property in a business owner’s policy if you qualify; it usually costs less than buying the two separately.
- Choose a deductible you can absorb: Insureon customers typically pick $500–$1,000.
- Describe your operations precisely so you are rated in the right class code, not a broader and riskier one.
- Require subcontractors to carry their own general liability and collect their certificates before work starts.
- Buy the limits your contracts require and add an umbrella for the rare contract that asks for more.
- Keep a clean claims history; The Hartford lists it among the factors that can lower your price.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- A plain description of what your business does and what share of revenue each activity brings in.
- Annual revenue and payroll, actual and projected.
- Number of employees and how many subcontractors you use, with their costs.
- Business address, square footage and whether customers visit.
- States where you work and any license numbers.
- Limits and additional insured wording your leases and contracts require.
- Five years of loss runs and your current policy details.
Common questions
General liability insurance: questions
Is general liability insurance required by law?
Not for most businesses. It becomes mandatory through licensing in some states, such as Florida’s contractor rule and Texas’s plumbing board, and through leases, loans and client contracts.
How much general liability coverage do I need?
Most small businesses carry $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate; 85% of Insureon’s customers choose those limits. Check your lease and contracts first, since they often set the minimum.
Does general liability cover my own equipment or inventory?
No. Your own building, equipment and inventory are covered by commercial property insurance or a business owner’s policy, not general liability.
Does general liability cover mistakes in my professional work?
No. It covers non-professional negligence that causes injury or property damage. Financial losses from bad advice, errors or missed deadlines need professional liability insurance.
Will general liability pay if an employee is hurt?
No. Employee injuries are excluded and are covered by workers’ compensation, which most states require once you have employees.
What is the difference between general liability and a BOP?
A business owner’s policy bundles general liability with commercial property and usually business income coverage, typically for less than buying them separately. Insureon’s customers pay a median of $83 a month for a BOP.
Can I get proof of coverage quickly?
Yes. Once a policy is in force, the insurer or broker can issue a certificate of insurance, which is the document landlords and clients ask to see. Ask for the exact certificate holder and additional insured wording your contract requires.
Get covered.
Tell us about your business once. We compare options and a licensed agent follows up, usually the same day.
Sources (11)
- Insureon: general liability insurance cost (updated March 30, 2026)
- Insureon: general liability insurance (updated July 27, 2026)
- The Hartford: general liability insurance cost (updated May 20, 2026)
- NEXT: how much does general liability insurance cost (data April 2026)
- Insurance Information Institute: commercial general liability insurance
- Florida Administrative Code R. 61G4-15.003: public liability insurance
- Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners: certificate of insurance form
- Washington RCW 18.27.050: contractor insurance or financial responsibility
- Federal Acquisition Regulation 28.307-2: liability insurance minimums
- Federal Acquisition Regulation 28.306: fixed-price contracts
- Federal Acquisition Regulation 28.310: work on a government installation
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.