Insureon and The Hartford both publish a general liability figure, but the two numbers are different kinds of number and cannot be compared. Insureon, a broker, reports an average of $45 a month, drawn from the median of policies it sold to roughly 100,000 of its own small business customers. The Hartford, a carrier, publishes an average of about $810 a year, or about $67 a month, across its own customers, and its page says a specific premium could be higher or lower. Neither is a market rate, and neither tells a particular business what it will pay.
How much does small business insurance cost?
There is no verified market average to quote, and this page does not invent one. What exists is a set of figures that each company publishes about itself. Insureon's and The Hartford's are the two most directly comparable on paper, and they turn out not to be comparable at all.
Premiums depend on trade, payroll, revenue and location. The Hartford says costs vary by state and that a specific premium could be higher or lower than its average. Neither company's figure is described as applying to any particular trade, so a business should treat both as reference points and not as predictions.
Two different kinds of number
The table below shows what each figure is and what it is not.
| Insureon | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of seller | Broker | Carrier |
| What it publishes | Average $45 a month; annual policies $265 to $3,030 | About $810 a year, roughly $67 a month |
| What the figure is | Median of policies sold across its own book | Average across its own customers |
| Sample | Roughly 100,000 of its own small business customers | Its own customers |
| What it is not | A market rate | A market rate or a quote |
A median is the middle policy in a set, so half of Insureon's policies cost less and half cost more. An average adds everything up and divides, so a few expensive policies can pull it above the middle. Setting a median beside an average compares unlike measures even before the customer mix is considered.
The two providers, in alphabetical order
The order is alphabetical, not a ranking. Prices are as of October 13, 2026, were read at each provider's own pages, and move over time.
Insureon. Insureon is a broker, not a carrier, so a policy bought through it is issued by an insurer it places the business with. It reports an average general liability premium of $45 a month, with 22% of its customers under $30 and 41% between $30 and $60, and annual policies from $265 to $3,030. Those figures are the median of policies it sold to roughly 100,000 of its own small business customers, and they describe Insureon's book of business, not the market.
The Hartford. The Hartford publishes an average of about $810 a year, or about $67 a month, for general liability. That is the carrier's own average across its customers, not a market rate. Its page says costs vary by state and that a specific premium could be higher or lower, so the average should not be read as a quote.
Why can \$45 and \$67 not be compared?
First, the statistics differ: one is a median, the other an average. Second, the customer bases differ. Each company insures a different mix of trades, sizes and states, and a mix weighted toward low-risk trades will show a lower figure whatever the price for any one trade.
Third, the sellers differ. A broker places policies with insurers, so Insureon's figure reflects whichever insurers it uses, while The Hartford's reflects its own pricing. The $22 gap tells a reader nothing about which route will be cheaper for a given business.
One concession is worth making plainly. Insureon publishes more detail about the shape of its figures, including the share of customers under $30 and between $30 and $60, which makes it the more informative of the two as a picture of its own book. That is a point about disclosure, not price.
What do the other providers publish?
For context, the remaining providers listed here publish figures of other kinds. Hiscox states that general liability starts at $30 a month, and that is a floor, not a typical price, with business size, industry, location and coverage amount named as what moves it. NEXT Insurance, now branded ERGO NEXT, says its starts at $19 a month for some businesses and reports that 45% of its customers pay $45 a month or less. Chubb and Thimble publish no premium and quote each business individually.
Every one of these is a different measure again: a floor, a starting price for some businesses, a customer distribution, or nothing at all. That variety is the reason no single figure can answer the cost question.
What does the price leave out?
The Insurance Information Institute says bodily injury and property damage cover protects against liability for harm to others arising out of non-professional negligent acts. Personal and advertising injury covers libel, slander, false arrest, infringing on another's copyright and malicious prosecution, and medical payments cover can be triggered without legal action.
The exclusions are where the real cost sits, and neither company's figure says anything about them.
| Exclusion | What the Institute says |
|---|---|
| Workers' compensation | Excluded, can be bought as a separate policy |
| Employment practices liability | Excluded, can be bought as a separate policy |
| Pollution liability | Excluded, can be bought as an endorsement |
| Liquor liability | May be excluded; without extra cover, liquor-related claims are not protected |
| Professional liability | May be excluded |
This page does not state which exclusions apply to either company's policies. The cost of insurance is the premium plus whatever the policy leaves the business to carry itself.
What about a business owners policy?
A business owners policy bundles property insurance for buildings and contents the company owns, business interruption insurance for lost income after a fire or other catastrophe, and liability protection. The Institute says it is aimed at small and mid-sized businesses that generally face the same kind and degree of risk.
Its limits are plain: "BOPs do NOT cover professional liability, auto insurance, worker's compensation or health and disability insurance." Neither company's published figure is a business owners policy price.
What does the law require?
The U.S. Small Business Administration states that the federal government requires every business with employees to carry workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance. It adds that some states require additional insurance and that laws requiring insurance vary by state. A general liability policy satisfies none of those three.
This page does not state a requirement for any particular state. The place to confirm one is that state's own insurance department. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners publishes a small business insurance shopping tool, the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner has a guide to how business insurance works, and the Texas Department of Insurance has a page on general liability insurance.
Does an LLC remove the need for a policy?
No. The SBA says limited liability protects personal assets in most instances, but that the protection has limits. The entity and the policy do different jobs, and one does not stand in for the other.
If someone runs a single-member LLC, the entity separates the business from the owner in most instances, while a policy pays for covered claims the business faces. ZenBusiness is the entity half of that pairing. It sells no insurance of any kind and is not part of the Insureon and The Hartford comparison, so choosing a policy is a separate decision.
How can a business find its own number?
Write a plain description of the business: the work, the equipment, who is on site, the revenue, the payroll and the location. Give the same description to a broker and to a carrier, so each quote is built on the same facts.
Ask each for the same coverage amount, the limit and the deductible in writing, because this page does not state typical figures for either. Put the named exclusions to each as questions, and ask whether each can be added and at what price. Ask who issues the policy and who handles claims, especially through a broker.
Then check the state insurance department for anything legally required, and compare totals last, once coverage types, limits, deductibles and exclusions match. A lower premium that leaves a required cover unfilled, or an exclusion that matters to the work, is not a saving.
Sources
- Insurance Information Institute, "Commercial general liability insurance"
- Insurance Information Institute, "What does a business owners policy (BOP) cover"
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Get business insurance"
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners, "Small business insurance shopping tool"
- Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, "Learn how business insurance works"
- Texas Department of Insurance, "General liability insurance"
This is general information rather than legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.