Best Business Insurance in Illinois

If you’re running a business in Illinois, do you know what type of business insurance you need? There are many types of coverages to choose from. Here’s your guide to finding the best business insurance in Illinois.

Quick Look: Best Business Insurance in Illinois

• Best Overall for Business Insurance: The Hartford
• Best for Tailored Coverage: Simply Business
• Best for Small Businesses With Full-Time and Part-Time Employees: Hiscox
• Best for Self-Employed: Suracy
• Best for Professional Liability: biBERK
• Best for Small Businesses With Less Than 25 Employees: Next Insurance

Best Business Insurance Options in Illinois

With so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to figure out which business insurance options are the best. To get started, here are a few insurers worth looking into.

1. Best Overall for Business Insurance: The Hartford

The Hartford offers a wide variety of business insurance coverage to meet the needs of most any business. If you’re not sure what type of insurance your business needs, The Hartford can help guide you.

It offers a simple online process to get a quote in as little as 10 minutes. By providing The Hartford with some basic information about your business, you’ll be able to receive a customized quote.

Your quote will give you a picture of what this insurer thinks you need and what it may cost based on the information you’ve provided.

• Quote process: Online or over the phone
• Policy purchase process: Online
• States served: All 50 states

2. Best for Tailored Coverage: Simply Business

Simply Business offers a comprehensive suite of business insurance that specializes in making it easy to insure your business. 

Whether you’re looking for construction workers' insurance or insurance for your startup, Simply Business helps you find the right coverage at the right price. 

Tell Simply Business a little bit about your business and you'll get almost-instantaneous affordable quotes from top insurance providers. You can look into workers’ comp insurance, business owner’ policies, commercial auto, liability coverage and more that will cover everyone on your team, and you can get covered in accordance with Illinois law without overspending. 

Building your business is hard enough. Let Simply Business make it easier. Get a quote from Simply Business today.

• Quote process: Online or over the phone
• Policy purchase process: Online
• States served: All 50 states

3. Best for Small Businesses: Hiscox

If you’re looking for small business insurance, it’s important to work with a company that understands the needs of small businesses. Hiscox offers coverage to small businesses that operate in over 180 different industries.

To learn more about what it recommends for your business, you can fill out a quick survey on its website. Hiscox can then give you a quick quote that is customized based on the information you’ve provided.

If you decide to go with Hiscox, you’ll benefit from instant coverage after you purchase your policy. It also offers a quick claims process to get you the help you need efficiently.

• Quote process: Online or over the phone
• Policy purchase process: Online
• States served: All 50 states

4. Best for Self-Employed: Suracy

If you’re self-employed, business insurance can seem even more complicated than usual. Suracy specializes in offering small business insurance policies for a variety of industries, including those that most often are run by self-employed individuals.

You can work with Suracy to find a tailored solution based on the needs of your business and your industry.

Suracy is also there to act as a trusted partner for your business and can update you with new opportunities even after you purchase your policy.

• Quote process: Online, by email or over the phone
• Policy purchase process: Online
• States served: All 50 states

5. Best for Professional Liability: biBERK

biBERK can walk you through the process of getting professional liability insurance that is tailored to the services your business offers.

Its professional liability insurance policies are comprehensive and cost-effective, making it an affordable solution for many of its customers. To see what it can offer you, you can visit the biBERK website to get a quote. Like most companies, all you’ll need to do is input some basic information about your business.

You’ll also be able to purchase and manage your policy online. Additionally, biBERK can provide you with a qualified attorney to represent your business if it ever faces a claim.

• Quote process: Online
• Policy purchase process: Online
• States served: All 50 states

6. Best for Small Businesses: Next Insurance

We believe that Next's simple, straightforward approach is helpful to those who are trying to figure out what needs coverage and how best to handle it. The website is easy to navigate and to understand, and you can find your answers in minutes regardless of the question.

Next insures a wide variety of professions, including architecture and engineering, beauty, commercial maintenance, consulting, fitness, health, home services, marketing, property and therapy. Even if your own profession does not fall under one of these categories, Next can still help you get the coverage you need when you need it. 

• Quote process: Online
• Policy purchase process: Online
• States served: All 50 states

Types of Business Insurance

It’s important that you choose the right type of insurance for your business for 2 reasons. First, you want to ensure that your business is covered against any possible risks it may face. Second, you don’t want to be paying for something your business doesn’t actually need. 

Here are some common types of business insurance:

General Liability

General liability insurance is something that most businesses should have. Think of it as something that gives your business a blanket of coverage against many common issues that businesses face. If someone gets injured at your business or if someone claims that your business caused damage to their property, you’ll use this coverage. It can protect you from financial losses due to a lawsuit, including your costs to pay out a judgement or settlement.

Product Liability

If your business has anything to do with products, you should look into product liability insurance. It doesn’t matter if your business manufactures or if it’s involved in wholesaling, distributing or retailing a product. If a defective product causes bodily harm or injury, your business could be facing a lawsuit. Product liability insurance can help protect your business against financial loss if this happens.

Commercial Property

Commercial property insurance can protect your business property if an unforeseen event occurs. Your business will be protected against loss and damages due to a wide range of events, including damage from fire, smoke, wind and hail storms. Your business will also be protected against loss and damages due to civil disobedience or vandalism. 

You may also have heard of this coverage referred to as workman’s comp or workers’ comp insurance. If your employee suffers from a work-related injury or illness, they’ll be able to receive coverage for their medical care from your policy. Your employee will also receive replacement for lost wages and disability benefits if they are unable to return to work. This type of business insurance also protects you. If your employee or their family sues your business due to the work-related injury or illness, your policy can help cover your legal costs.

Professional Liability

Professional liability insurance offers additional protection for your business if you provide professional services to your clients or customers. By providing services, your business is at risk for lawsuits due to malpractice, errors and negligence. Fortunately, this type of business insurance can protect your business if one of your clients makes a claim against you for any of these reasons. Your professional liability policy can help cover the costs and fees associated with lawsuits, including legal fees and damages awarded to your client.

Cost of Business Insurance in Illinois

As a business owner, you’re right to be concerned about your business expenses, including insurance costs. The cost of your business insurance policy depends on several factors:

Business Location

The more space your business takes up, the more space there is for accidents to occur. Insurance companies may also consider the age and condition of the building your business is in.

Claims History

If your business has little to no past claims, this is a great sign to insurance companies. You may receive a discount on your workers’ comp policy if you can show that your business operates safely and hasn’t faced many past claims.

Employees

If you’re looking into professional liability insurance, you should be aware that the number of employees you have can impact the price of your policy. Think of it this way — the more employees you have, the more chance there is for a mistake to be made at your business. The same goes for the employment status of your employees. For example, the more hours your employees work, the more time there is for them to inadvertently make a mistake.

Payroll Size

Since workers’ comp benefits are based on the salary of the injured employee, your policy needs to provide enough coverage to give them the appropriate amount of compensation. For this reason, the higher your payroll is, the more you can expect to pay for your workers’ comp policy.

Services

If your business is involved in handling sensitive information or valuable assets, you could be facing a pricey lawsuit if a mistake happens. Since there is more risk for expensive claims, you may find yourself paying a higher price for your business insurance.

Your Industry

The industry you work in matters to your insurance company. If you run a fairly safe business, like a marketing firm where your employees sit at a desk most of the day, this isn’t as big of a consideration. However, if you run a business where your employees face daily hazards from heavy machinery or dangerous chemicals, you can expect to pay more for your business insurance.

Worried about the costs of business insurance? Fortunately, there are some ways you may be able to lower your costs:

• You can minimize the risks of your business by offering regular safety training for your employees.
• If you can bundle multiple coverages into 1 policy, you may be able to pay less overall for your business insurance.
• You can also save on the cost (premium) of your policy by changing your deductible. Your deductible is the amount that your business must pay out-of-pocket before your policy will pay for covered claims. If you increase your deductible, you may be able to lower your premium.

While the cost of your individual policy will depend on all of the factors listed above, we can give you an idea of what you can expect to pay. According to The Hartford, the average cost of a general liability policy is $500 per year. For a professional liability insurance policy from Progressive, the average cost in 2019 was $552 per year.

Next Steps to Coverage

After reviewing your options, it’s time to take the next step to get the best coverage for your business. The best thing you can do is get a quote from multiple insurance companies. By doing this, you’ll be able to compare coverages and costs to find the right options for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions