Can a Sole Proprietor Get Business Insurance?

Yes, a sole proprietor can get business insurance. Sole proprietors can buy the same types of insurance available to other larger businesses, like liability, commercial auto, and business interruption insurance .

Can a Sole Proprietor Get Workers' Comp Insurance?

Yes, a sole proprietor can get workers’ comp insurance to protect employees against workplace injuries. Most states require a sole proprietor with one or more employees to have workers’ compensation insurance.

Do Sole Proprietors Need Business Insurance?

Yes, sole proprietors need business insurance to protect against legal liability. Even straightforward one-person businesses could get sued for their work. If a sole proprietor hires employees, they also need workers’ comp insurance. And if a sole proprietor drives a vehicle for work, they need commercial auto insurance .

How Much Does Sole Proprietor Insurance Cost?

On average, sole proprietor insurance costs $42 per month for general liability , $61 per month for professional liability , and $45 per month for workers’ compensation insurance, according to data from Insureon. What your policy will cost depends on the insurance company, business type, income, and policy limits. It also depends on what insurance company you work with. However, these aren’t the only costs. You could also owe out-of-pocket for deductibles when you file a claim. Generally, the lower your monthly premium cost, the more you could owe out-of-pocket for a claim.

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Best Sole Proprietor Insurance for 2024

If you own a sole proprietor business, these are the best insurance policies to keep you safe

David Rodeck

Updated April 02, 2024

Reviewed by

Anthony Battle

Fact checked by

Betsy Petrick

Sole proprietor business insurance protects you against lawsuits, like when a customer gets injured in your shop and sues you. Every year, businesses spend an average of $1.2 million fighting lawsuits.

Ideally, your sole proprietor insurance gives you quality protection at a fair price. To help you find the best business insurance for sole proprietors, we reviewed eight of the most popular insurers across the following categories: Average quoted premiums on Insureon.com (35%-40%) and the rate at which a company gave a quote when businesses applied for insurance on Insureon (30%-35%). We also reviewed each company’s complaint index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) (15%), and its financial strength information from credit ratings firm AM Best (15%).

Best Sole Proprietor Insurance for 2024

Best for General Liability Policies: USLI
Best for Workers' Comp: CNA
Best for BOP Policies: Travelers
Best for Low Average General Liability Premiums: Hiscox

Best for General Liability Policies : USLI

USLI

Get a Quote

Why We Chose It

USLI specializes in insurance for small business owners, with competitive premiums and high quote approval rates for sole proprietorships.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Lower average quoted premiums for general liability
High quote approval rate for general liability
A++ (Superior) financial strength rating

Cons

Higher-risk or hazardous businesses may need to look elsewhere
Online quote system is not well organized

Overview

The United States Liability Insurance Company (USLI) offers the best general liability insurance among the companies we researched. USLI quoted one of the lowest premiums for sole proprietor liability insurance and had one of the highest rates for offering quotes to businesses who apply for a policy through Insureon. USLI also sells a competitive business owner's policy (BOP) with low premiums and a high quote rate.

USLI’s NAIC complaint index is less than the expected number of complaints for its size.

Plan Pricing

Average overall premium: $655
General liability only: $614
BOP only: $412

Add-Ons

Special events
Liquor liability

Best for Workers' Comp : CNA

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Why We Chose It

CNA approves workers’ compensation applications at a 100% rate on Insureon, and offers competitive premiums.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Sells workers’ compensation to sole proprietors
Offers workplace safety and risk management programs
High policy quote rate

Cons

Higher quoted premiums for general liability
Only an A (Excellent) AM Best rating

Overview

CNA offers workers’ compensation insurance for companies of all sizes, including sole proprietorships. Its policies include access to workplace safety and risk management programs and classes, too. Additionally, the company's NAIC complaint index indicates that they receive fewer complaints than expected.

While CNA’s workers’ comp policies score well, the company may not be a good fit if you want to save money while growing your business. Its general liability policies had high average quoted premiums.

Plan Pricing

Average overall premium: $1,048
General liability: $1,483
BOP: $500

Add-Ons

Cyber insurance

Best for BOP Policies : Travelers

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Why We Chose It

Travelers’ BOP policies combine low average quoted premiums with a high quote rate.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Low average quoted premiums for a BOP
Low NAIC complaint indexes for a company of its size
A++ (Superior) AM Best rating

Cons

High average quoted premiums for general liability

Overview

Travelers has been in the insurance business since 1864. The company sells excellent BOP policies that include liability, property, and business interruption coverage. Travelers charges a low premium for this coverage and has a 100% quote-provided rate through Insureon.

Travelers also has low NAIC complaint indexes, indicating customers don't often have issues with its sole proprietor business insurance. The company has an A++ (Superior) AM Best rating. It’s one of the largest and most stable insurers around.

Plan Pricing

Here are Travelers’ average annual premiums for sole proprietor insurance, according to data from Insureon:

Average overall premium: $3,439
General liability: $2,075
BOP: $250

Add-Ons

Commercial auto
Worker’s compensation

Best for Low Average General Liability Premiums : Hiscox

Get a Quote

Why We Chose It

Hiscox’s average quoted premiums were lower than the seven other companies we analyzed.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Low premiums for general liability
Low average overall premiums for sole proprietor insurance
Provides online quotes and electronic documents

Cons

Worst NAIC complaint index for general liability among researched companies
Lower quote rates versus other sole proprietor insurance options

Overview

Hiscox quoted the lowest average premiums for sole proprietor liability insurance. Hiscox also quoted low average premiums for BOP policies. Additionally, Hiscox was one of just a few companies that offered online quotes. After you get your policy, you can download and review your documents electronically.

Hiscox had the highest NAIC complaint index of all the companies we analyzed for commercial liability insurance, receiving about four times higher than the expected number of complaints for this category in 2022. Furthermore, the company's overall complaint index indicates that they received slightly more complaints than expected. However, these issues could be worth dealing with in exchange for Hiscox’s low premiums.

Plan Pricing

Here are Hiscox’s average annual premiums for sole proprietor insurance, according to data from Insureon:

Average overall premium: $910
General liability: $405
BOP: $503

Add-Ons

Professional liability
Workers compensation

Final Verdict

If you want sole proprietor business insurance, all the companies in this roundup stood out as quality options. The right fit depends on the type of coverage you want and your budget. USLI was the best overall option for general liability protection, while Hiscox offered the lowest-cost policies for general liability.

For a BOP policy, Travelers was best because of its competitively priced policies and high rate of providing quotes to people who request them. If you hire employees for your sole proprietorship, CNA offers competitive premiums for workers’ compensation insurance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Sole Proprietor Get Business Insurance?

Yes, a sole proprietor can get business insurance. Sole proprietors can buy the same types of insurance available to other larger businesses, like liability, commercial auto, and business interruption insurance.
Can a Sole Proprietor Get Workers' Comp Insurance?

Yes, a sole proprietor can get workers’ comp insurance to protect employees against workplace injuries. Most states require a sole proprietor with one or more employees to have workers’ compensation insurance.
Do Sole Proprietors Need Business Insurance?

Yes, sole proprietors need business insurance to protect against legal liability. Even straightforward one-person businesses could get sued for their work. If a sole proprietor hires employees, they also need workers’ comp insurance. And if a sole proprietor drives a vehicle for work, they need commercial auto insurance.
How Much Does Sole Proprietor Insurance Cost?

On average, sole proprietor insurance costs $42 per month for general liability, $61 per month for professional liability, and $45 per month for workers’ compensation insurance, according to data from Insureon. What your policy will cost depends on the insurance company, business type, income, and policy limits. It also depends on what insurance company you work with. However, these aren’t the only costs. You could also owe out-of-pocket for deductibles when you file a claim. Generally, the lower your monthly premium cost, the more you could owe out-of-pocket for a claim.

Methodology

For this review, we used Insureon data for general liability, and BOP policy and workers’ compensation policies (if available) for eight insurers. Finally, we scored each insurer across the following categories:

Quoted Premiums (35%-40%)

We reviewed the average quoted premiums companies gave sole proprietors over the past seven months on Insureon. Not every insurer provided quotes for workers’ compensation insurance.

Quote Rate (30%-35%)

Whenever a business owner submits an application to get a quote for sole proprietor business insurance, it’s not a guarantee that they’ll get a quote from every company on Insureon’s platform. Companies that provided quotes at a higher rate received higher scores.

NAIC Index (15%)

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks how many complaints insurance companies receive for each type of insurance relative to the company’s size and the market. The NAIC then creates an index showing whether an insurer gets more or fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size. We used this to measure customer satisfaction and gave insurers with lower NAIC indexes a better score.

AM Best Rating (15%)

AM Best is a credit rating agency. It gives insurers a letter grade showing their financial strength. We gave a higher score to insurers with higher AM Best ratings, as a higher rating indicates more financial stability in the near future.

Article Sources

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