Get business insurance

U.S. Small Business Administration, 3 min read

This lesson is a guide published on sba.gov.

What you'll get

The SBA's section on business insurance compares six common kinds of coverage by who needs them, including general liability for any business, professional liability for businesses that serve customers, commercial property, home-based business coverage added to a homeowner's policy as a rider, and a business owner's policy that bundles the usual coverages. Its rule of thumb is to insure what you could not pay for yourself, and its buying steps are to assess your risks, use a licensed agent who earns a commission and compare offers from several agents.

Do this week

List the three worst things that could go wrong on a job, such as an injury, damage to a client's property or a claim over your advice, and ask two licensed agents what each would cost to cover and which policy would respond.