Insurance for a New Business
Opening a new business? This guide follows the coverage choices that arrive with your lease, your first customer, your first hire and your first work vehicle.
Before signing a lease
Before you sign, check which improvements you pay for and what the lease makes you insure. The landlord’s building policy protects the building, so your contents, your improvements and your liability need coverage of your own.
Compare general liability with a Business Owner’s Policy rather than choosing solely by the policy name, and read the commercial lease insurance requirements guide with the draft lease in hand.
Before taking the first client job
Read what you promise to deliver and the insurance section of the contract. If you give advice, ask about professional liability as well as injury and damage. Send us the exact insurance requirements early, so every question is settled before the start date.
Read about professional liability and the practical questions for consultants, contractors and cleaning businesses.
Before hiring or buying a business vehicle
Workers’ compensation needs to be in place before your first employee starts, and its price follows the duties they will do. If driving is part of the work, tell us who owns the vehicles and how they will be used.
Explore workers’ compensation and commercial auto as separate decisions, and follow our first-hire guide before the start date.
Before choosing the lowest quote
Compare the activities each quote describes, the property it insures, its limits and its deductibles, and ask which exclusions touch the work you plan to do. Price is easiest to judge once the policy fits the whole business, and coverage starts on the effective date the policy shows. The guide to what underwriters look at explains how a business with no loss history is quoted.
For additional consumer guidance, read the California Department of Insurance small-business guide.
Start with a clear description
For an initial conversation, share what the business does, where it operates and when you plan to begin. Keep sensitive identity, payment and medical information out of the website inquiry. We will ask for anything else the insurer needs once we start the application.
Gather the details with the quote checklist, then find your industry and your city, or explore the online quote option.
Naming the right business on the policy
A policy names a specific business. If you form an LLC or corporation, the policy should show that entity exactly as registered, along with any DBA you trade under. Sole proprietors starting under their own name should mention any plan to incorporate, so the change is handled when it happens instead of discovered later.
Mismatched names create friction the first time a landlord or client compares a certificate against a lease or contract. Getting the entity right on day one keeps every document lined up as the business grows.
Opening in a shopping center, business park or downtown storefront
Where you open shapes the first insurance questions. A converted warehouse downtown, a unit in a suburban shopping center and a first office in a business park each come with a lease that spells out what the tenant carries, and the landlord’s requirements usually arrive attached to it.
Read those requirements before signing, then bring them to the conversation alongside your planned services and opening date. Our Areas We Serve directory lists city pages from Redding to San Diego with the local steps that come before opening day.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Can I start the insurance conversation before opening day?
Yes. Tell us your planned opening date and we will line up quotes so coverage can start that day once an insurer accepts the business.
What if I do not know my first year’s exact sales?
Give your best estimate and tell us the business is new. Many policies are then settled on your actual sales at a year-end audit.
Does submitting the inquiry form bind insurance?
No. The form starts a conversation; it does not issue a policy or put coverage in force.
How early should a new business talk about insurance?
As soon as a lease, client contract or first hire is on the horizon. Starting early gives time to compare options before each start date.
Should my LLC be named on the policy?
Yes. Use the exact registered entity name, plus any DBA, so the policy, certificates and contracts all match.
What if I start as a sole proprietor and incorporate later?
Tell us when the new entity is formed, and we can review how to update the named business on your coverage.