Thimble Small Business Insurance Review

Thimble Business Insurance Ratings at a Glance

Do you own a small business? If so, you understand the importance of small business insurance. A good business insurance policy can save you from claims, theft, or damages that could do harm to your business. Benzinga offers this Thimble Small Business Insurance review to help you decide if this is the right small business insurance company for you.

Thimble has relatively limited small business insurance options, but it has the essentials covered for most self-employed professionals and contractors. Let’s dig into what Thimble small business insurance offers and how the carrier structures its policies. 

Types of Insurance

Thimble small business insurance offers several types of coverage, and it’s working on more (with those to come in the future).

General Liability Insurance  

General liability insurance is essential for most types of businesses. It helps protect your business against losses due to: 

• Bodily injury, when someone is injured on your business property. 
• Property damage, when another person’s property is damaged by your business. 
• Personal and advertising injury, when you publicize something damaging to another party’s reputation. 

Thimble offers general liability insurance in 48 states and Washington, D.C. (It’s not available in New York or Washington.)

Professional Liability Insurance 

If you make a mistake in your work and it results in a financial loss for your client, professional liability insurance will help cover claims. It helps to cover alleged or actual negligence, legal costs and settlements. This insurance is also known as errors and omissions insurance. 

Thimble’s professional liability insurance is rolling out state by state. It’s not yet available in New York, Washington, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont. 

Drone Insurance 

This coverage is another way Thimble sets itself apart from the rest. In fact, Thimble got its start as Verifly Drone Insurance, and you can still purchase drone insurance through the Verifly app. 

Drone insurance helps protect you if there are any injuries or property damage due to your drone flight. It also provides coverage for unintentional invasions of privacy and unintentional flyaways. 

You enter where you’re planning to fly and choose whether you want a 1-, 4- or 8-hour policy. You can fly any drone that meets the policy’s weight limits and you can choose up to $10 million in coverage. You can buy a policy in a few clicks and have instant proof of insurance. You can purchase coverage up to 60 days in advance. 

Event Insurance 

Thimble is also rolling out event insurance. This is a type of liability coverage for those who are organizing a special event or participating in one as a vendor or exhibitor. It includes coverage for bodily injury and property damage to a 3rd party and coverage for legal fees and damages related to alcohol consumption for BYOB or open bar events. If you’re selling alcohol, you can add retail liquor to your policy. 

You can sign up to be notified as soon as it’s available on the Thimble website. 

Thimble Small Business Coverage Options

Business insurance is typically sold on an annual basis. While some insurance companies offer payment plans, this still adds up to a lot of money, especially if you do seasonal or occasional work. 

Thimble’s solved that problem by offering flexible options. You can choose:

• Thimble Monthly: Thimble Monthly offers affordable ongoing coverage. You can cancel or pause your coverage at any time. 
• Thimble On Demand: This option allows you to purchase coverage by the hour, day, or week and you cancel up to 1 hour before your coverage starts. This comes in handy in lots of scenarios. For example, if you’re bidding on a big project and need to show proof of insurance, you can purchase a Thimble On Demand policy. If the project falls through, you can cancel. 

Thimble covers more than 120 professions in a range of industries. To get a sense of who Thimble is best for, here are the top 10 professions of its policyholders:

• Pressure washers
• Handymen
• Landscaping
• Photographers
• Cleaners and Janitors
• General contractors
• Videographers
• Carpenters
• Fitness instructors
• Construction workers

Thimble clearly covers a wide range of freelancers and consultants. It’s also a great choice for hair and beauty professionals, pet sitters and drone pilots.  

Thimble’s pricing model makes coverage very affordable — its policies start at $5. Your exact pricing depends on factors like where you live, the type of work you do and how long you opt for your coverage to last. 

Here are a few examples of coverage rates:

• A dog walking business paid $5 for 3 hours of coverage.
• A sanitation business paid $63.79 for 1 month of coverage.
• A dance instructor pays $52.92 for monthly coverage.
• A painting company paid $14.85 for 1 day of coverage.

Thimble’s mobile app is available from the Apple App and Google Play stores. It’s best for purchasing coverage. You can buy a policy in a few clicks and get your certificate of insurance right away. 

You can also add additional insureds and up to 100 crew members right from the mobile app. If you need to modify or cancel your coverage, you can do that from the app as well. However, you cannot file a claim from the app and must call Thimble’s underwriter, Markel Insurance Company (NYSE: MKL), a Fortune 500 company A-Rated by A.M. Best for financial strength.

Thimble’s general liability and professional liability policies are underwritten by Markel Insurance Company.  You can report a claim by contacting Markel via phone at 1-800-362-7535, fax at 1-855-662-7535 or email at newclaims@markelcorp.com. You can report a claim 24/7. 

When you file a claim, you’ll need to provide your policy information, the date of loss and location, and any relevant documentation like police reports. 

You can make a lot of changes to your policy via Thimble’s mobile app or website. You can add or edit additional insureds, edit your business name or address, raise your coverage or cancel a policy easily. 

If you want to get in touch with someone, you’ll need to so using Thimble’s contact form, as it doesn’t offer phone support. Its representatives answer queries from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and it aims to respond to all its queries within 1 hour. 

Thimble also offers a robust FAQ section, so there’s an excellent chance you can find answers to your questions without contacting support. 

Freelancers, gig workers and contractors have unique insurance needs. It’s painful to shell out thousands of dollars when you don’t need a full year of coverage. Thimble offers unique coverage for those who are self-employed, do seasonal work or have erratic coverage needs. 

Its policy offerings are affordable and buying a policy is a breeze. You don’t have to answer hundreds of questions about your business. Just answer a few, pay your premium and you’re covered. You can easily make changes to your policy online or in the mobile app. 

There are a couple of downsides with Thimble small business insurance. Its claims process requires a phone call or email. You can’t file claims through the mobile app or the Thimble website. It also has limited customer service. You can only get in touch through its website and you can’t call or chat. 

That said, it offers standout coverage that’s affordable and flexible. Being able to buy coverage for a few hours or a few days at a time gives you much-needed protection without breaking the bank. Even if you get a monthly policy, you can pause it when you need to. You’re never paying for coverage you don’t need.