General liability insurance covers a business's legal responsibility for bodily injury or property damage to others arising out of non-professional negligent acts, plus personal and advertising injury and medical payments. It does not cover workers' compensation, employment practices liability, pollution, liquor liability or professional liability, which the Insurance Information Institute says are excluded or may be excluded. The cheapest policy is rarely the one with the most cover, so the exclusions decide whether a low premium is a bargain or a risk.
What does general liability insurance actually cover?
The Insurance Information Institute describes three parts. Bodily injury and property damage cover protects against liability for harm to others arising out of non-professional negligent acts. A visitor hurt on a business's premises, or a client's property damaged during a job, are the ordinary examples.
Personal and advertising injury covers libel, slander, false arrest, infringing on another's copyright and malicious prosecution. These are not physical harms, which is why many buyers are surprised to find them inside the policy.
Medical payments cover can be triggered without legal action, so a small injury can be paid without a lawsuit being filed against the business.
What do the cheapest policies leave out?
The exclusions are the reader's real exposure, and a low premium does nothing to shrink them. The Institute names them, and the table below sets each one beside what it means in practice.
| Exclusion | What the Institute says | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Workers' compensation | Excluded, can be bought as a separate policy | A business with staff needs it separately |
| Employment practices liability | Excluded, can be bought as a separate policy | Claims about how staff are treated are not covered |
| Pollution liability | Excluded, can be bought as an endorsement | Matters to trades that handle chemicals or treatments |
| Liquor liability | May be excluded | Without extra cover, liquor-related claims are not protected |
| Professional liability | May be excluded | Errors in advice or specialist work are not covered |
The Institute adds that other risks may also be excluded, so the list above is not necessarily complete for any particular policy. This page does not state which exclusions any provider's policy contains, because none of the sources it relies on says so.
Why do the words "non-professional" matter so much?
They draw the line between the ordinary risks of operating a business and the risks of the work it sells. The advice, design, analysis or specialist service provided for a fee is the part general liability is not built to cover.
A business whose product is its judgment can hold a general liability policy and still have its central risk uncovered. A cheap quote that does not mention professional liability has not solved that problem, it has only left it unpriced.
Does a business owners policy fill the gaps?
No. 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 stated plainly: "BOPs do NOT cover professional liability, auto insurance, worker's compensation or health and disability insurance." A bundle is convenient, but it is not a complete program.
What do the providers publish about price?
The providers are listed alphabetically, and the order is not a ranking. Prices are as of October 13, 2026, were read at each provider's own pages, and move over time. Every figure belongs to the company that published it and describes its own customers or products, not the market.
Chubb. Chubb publishes no small-business premium, and it quotes per business. Nothing here implies a figure exists.
Hiscox. Hiscox states that general liability starts at $30 a month. Its page lists business size, industry, location and coverage amount as what moves it, so the figure is a floor and not a typical price.
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 sold to roughly 100,000 of its own small business customers.
ERGO NEXT. The company was formerly NEXT Insurance. It says general liability starts at $19 a month for some businesses, and it reports that 45% of its customers pay $45 a month or less. Its trade examples run from about $20 a month for a personal trainer to about $245 a month for a restaurant, and the page says an exact price needs a quote.
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. Its page says costs vary by state and that a specific premium could be higher or lower.
Thimble. Thimble publishes no premium on its site and quotes per business. Its distinguishing feature is short-term and by-the-job cover, so it should be compared on that and not on price.
| Provider | What it publishes | What the figure describes |
|---|---|---|
| Chubb | No premium published | Quotes per business |
| Hiscox | General liability from $30 a month | A starting floor |
| Insureon | Average $45 a month; annual policies $265 to $3,030 | Median of policies sold to its own customers |
| NEXT Insurance | From $19 a month for some businesses; trade examples about $20 to about $245 a month | Its own customers and examples |
| The Hartford | About $810 a year, roughly $67 a month | Its own customers' average |
| Thimble | No premium published | Quotes per business |
Why can a low price not be read as good value?
A starting price is the bottom of a range, an average sits somewhere inside it, and a median is the middle policy sold. None of them says what the policy excludes. Two quotes at the same price can protect against very different things.
A business that must also buy workers' compensation, employment practices, pollution, liquor or professional liability cover separately has a real cost far above the base premium. The cost of insurance is the premium plus whatever the policy leaves the business to carry itself.
What does the law require, whatever the price?
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, however cheap it is.
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 make the exclusions matter less?
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, so choosing a policy is a separate decision.
How can a cost-conscious business protect itself from the gaps?
Start with a plain description of the work: the tasks, the equipment and materials, who is on site, whether staff are employed, whether alcohol is served, whether advice is sold, the revenue and the location. Give the same description to every provider.
Ask each for the same limit and deductible in writing, because this page does not state typical figures. Then put the five exclusions to each one as questions: is workers' compensation, employment practices, pollution, liquor or professional liability excluded, and can each be added or bought separately, and at what price?
Ask who issues the policy and who handles claims, especially through a broker. 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 trade, 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.