Business insurance guidance for people who work for themselves
Understand the risk before you buy the policy.
Profession-first insurance guides, deep policy explainers, contract checklists, and free working templates for U.S. solo businesses and small service companies.
No universal “required everywhere” claims. No made-up average prices. Primary and regulator sources are visible.
Services, clients, locations, equipment, workers, vehicles, and data.
Limits, COIs, additional insured, waivers, leases, and vendor requirements.
Covered operations, exclusions, deductibles, defense costs, and endorsements.
Use the free worksheets to document decisions, renewals, claims, and client compliance.
Browse by profession
Start where the insurance question usually starts: your work.
Photographers
Coverage questions for portrait, wedding, event, commercial, and freelance photographers.
Read the full guide →Cleaning servicesHouse cleaners
Insurance guidance for solo cleaners and small residential cleaning businesses.
Read the full guide →Beauty & personal careEstheticians
Coverage considerations for independent estheticians, studio owners, and mobile beauty professionals.
Read the full guide →Beauty & personal careLash technicians
Risk and coverage guidance for independent lash artists and small studios.
Read the full guide →Fitness & wellnessPersonal trainers
Coverage guidance for independent trainers, mobile coaches, and small studios.
Read the full guide →Education servicesPrivate tutors
Insurance considerations for in-home, online, and independent tutoring businesses.
Read the full guide →Pet servicesDog walkers & pet sitters
Coverage guidance for solo dog walkers, pet sitters, and small pet-care businesses.
Read the full guide →Creative servicesGraphic designers
Coverage considerations for freelance designers and boutique creative studios.
Read the full guide →ConsultingMarketing consultants
Insurance guidance for solo marketing consultants, strategists, and small agencies.
Read the full guide →Deep research library
The questions that show up after “what insurance do I need?”
A Client Contract Requires Insurance You Do Not Have: What to Do Next
A step-by-step process for separating limits, endorsements, auto, workers’ comp, cyber, and proof-of-insurance requirements before you sign.
Read guide →Contracts & proof of insuranceCertificate Holder vs. Additional Insured: The Difference That Matters
A certificate holder receives evidence of insurance; additional-insured status depends on the policy or endorsement. Here is how to verify the difference without relying on a checkbox alone.
Read guide →Policy mechanicsOccurrence vs. Claims-Made Business Insurance: Why the Reporting Timeline Matters
A plain-English comparison of occurrence and claims-made triggers, with practical renewal and policy-switching questions for service businesses.
Read guide →Coverage comparisonsBusiness Owner’s Policy vs. General Liability: Which One Solves More of the Risk?
A practical comparison of standalone general liability and a BOP for small service businesses with property, equipment, and business-interruption exposure.
Read guide →Coverage comparisonsCommercial Property vs. Inland Marine: Where Is Your Business Equipment Actually Covered?
A comparison for small service businesses with equipment at a shop, home office, client site, vehicle, event venue, or other temporary location.
Read guide →Coverage comparisonsHired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance for Small Service Businesses
What to ask when employees or owners use personal cars, rentals, or borrowed vehicles for business errands and the company does not own every vehicle involved.
Read guide →Free working documents
Stop rebuilding the same insurance spreadsheet from scratch.
Use the templates to turn a client clause, renewal, equipment list, subcontractor file, cyber review, or incident into a repeatable process.
See all free templatesCoverage library
Understand what each policy is designed to do—and where the gaps begin.
General liability insurance
Third-party bodily injury, property damage, and certain advertising injury claims.
Professional liability / E&O
Claims alleging mistakes, negligence, missed deadlines, or failures in professional services.
Commercial property insurance
Business-owned property at a scheduled location, subject to covered causes of loss.
Commercial auto insurance
Vehicles used in business, when personal auto coverage is not designed for the exposure.
Workers' compensation
Work-related employee injuries and illnesses, with requirements that vary by state and business structure.
Cyber insurance
First-party and/or third-party costs tied to certain cyber incidents, depending on the policy.
Tools & equipment / inland marine
Portable business property that travels away from a fixed premises.
Start with the problem
Policy names make more sense after you identify the loss.
A client asking for a COI, a venue demanding additional-insured status, a stolen camera, an employee injury, a cyber incident, or a professional mistake all point to different questions.
Contract language, decoded
A COI is evidence. The policy and endorsements do the coverage work.
Client and venue requirements can combine limits, additional-insured status, primary-and-noncontributory wording, waivers, auto, workers’ compensation, and cancellation language. Break the clause into individual checks before signing.
Read the COI guide- Match the named insured to your legal business.
- Check policy dates against the project dates.
- Confirm endorsements rather than relying on a certificate checkbox.
- Keep the signed contract, certificate, and endorsements together.
Core practical guides
Four workflows every service business should understand.
Certificate of Insurance (COI): a plain-English guide
What a COI shows, what it does not show, and what to check before sending one to a client or venue.
Open guide →Additional insured: what small service businesses should know
Why clients ask for it, how it differs from a certificate holder, and why the endorsement matters.
Open guide →Independent contractor insurance: start with the work you actually do
A practical framework for matching your client contracts, equipment, driving, data, and workforce to coverage types.
Open guide →Business insurance checklist for solo service professionals
A ten-minute checklist before you request quotes or sign a client contract.
Open guide →How we publish
Source the rule. Separate it from the recommendation.
Business insurance is regulated and sold under state-specific rules and policy forms. We prefer government, regulator, and primary-source materials for legal, classification, certificate, and cybersecurity statements. When a point depends on state law, licensing, worker status, or the actual policy, the page says so instead of pretending one answer fits every business.