All businesses have their risks. Depending on your profession, these risks can sometimes cause problems that might lead to heavy lawsuits or damages. This is why you should consider having general liability insurance for your Kentucky business.
Besides, some businesses in Kentucky need this policy to obtain contracts. If you wonder how it all works, this article is for you. Read on as we show you everything you know regarding general liability insurance in Kentucky.
- The 6 best general insurance companies in Kentucky
- What does general liability insurance cover in Kentucky?
- Requirements for general liability insurance in Kentucky
- Why should small businesses in Kentucky get general liability insurance?
- How much does general liability insurance cost in Kentucky?
- What affects the cost of general liability insurance in Kentucky?
- How to find cheap general liability insurance in Kentucky?
The 6 best general insurance companies in Kentucky
- Simply Business: Best for finding low-cost coverage
- NEXT: Best for a great digital experience and affordable rates
- CoverWallet: Best for comparing quotes
- Chubb: Best for comprehensive
- Hiscox: Best for professional service companies
- Tivly: Best for connecting small businesses with knowledgeable agents
Simply Business: Best for finding low-cost coverage
Simply Business is digital brokerage firm specializing in serving small businesses. What sets them apart is that they partner with several reputable carriers who have solid financial strength ratings and tend to offer low-cost coverage. That makes it easy for you to find the cheapest general liability insurance quotes with them.
After submitting your information, Simply Business will provide several quotes from partners that they work with. Many of their carrier partners may not be well-known, but offer great affordable quotes that you wouldn’t be able to access otherwise.
Getting and comparing several quotes online are fast and simple. Within 10 minutes you will find the cheapest one for you.
Simply Business also has great customer satisfaction rating on trustpilot.
NEXT: Best for a sleek digital experience and affordable rates
NEXT uses a straightforward approach that is beneficial for people new to getting general liability insurance. The website is simple to use and understand, and you can find answers to your questions in minutes.
NEXT provides coverage for various professions, including architecture and engineering, consulting, fitness, marketing, restaurant, etc. Their product’s main strength is for all kinds of contractors from handymen, plumbers, to electricians, and roofers.
It took us less than 3 minutes to get the quote from NEXT for an IT consulting firm with 2 employees and annual revenue of $400,000.
In our experience, NEXT usually offers affordable rates compared with other providers. Even you can’t compare several quotes with NEXT, you can rest assured that their general liability insurance cost is usually one of the lowest.
Coverwallet: Best for comparing quotes online
CoverWallet is an online broker. The company offers online quotes and might help you understand the insurance you need for your business. CoverWallet also provides reading material on general liability. CoverWallet might also be able to manage your pre-existing insurance policies. The good part is that everything is done online.
Below is a quote sample from CoverWallet for an IT consulting firm with 2 full-time employees and $400K in annual revenue. As you can see, CoverWallet was able to provide us with 2 quotes, one from Hiscox and the other from Chubb. That makes it very easy and convenient for us to compare quotes online.
Chubb: Best for comprehensive coverage
Chubb is a global insurance company with over 130 years of experience in business insurance and services. Chubb has an AM Best A++ rating and a Standard & Poor’s AA rating, indicating excellent financial strength. In addition, the company provides general liability insurance for various industries.
Their policies also include special risk management services for cybersecurity that are world-renowned. Chubb’s advertising and personal injury limits are not aggregated. Most importantly, the company’s definition of bodily injury is broad, including mental injury, humiliation, and shock.
Hiscox: Best for professional service companies
According to AM Best and Standard & Poor’s, Hiscox received A ratings, indicating that it is financially strong. Hiscox Insurance specializes in helping small businesses find insurance. The company focuses more on small businesses in the professional services industry. Its general liability insurance policies include coverage for electronic data liability, a common concern for professional services firms. It also includes temporary employees in coverage by default.
Below is quote that we pulled from Hiscox for an IT consulting firm with 2 full time employees and $400,000 annual revenue. As you can see, Hiscox probably offers the cheapest price for this hypothetical firm in our research. However, please note that this doesn’t mean Hiscox is the cheapest provider for your own business.
Tivly: Best for connecting small businesses with knowledgeable agents
Tivly is a national broker. They work with an intensive network of agents across the country. These agents are insurance specialists that are very knowledgeable about different industries that small businesses in Kentucky might operate in and the nuances in these industries. Based on their understanding of the small business’s operations, they help their clients find the right policies with the suitable coverages and the lowest cost available.
To work with these agents, you have to fill out a form on their website. After that, based on your business operation details, commercialinsurance.net will connect you with the most knowledgeable in their network, the agent will contact and discuss your needs. They will then find the best coverage for your business at the lowest prices. If you are not happy with the agent assigned to you, you can always request Tivly to connect you with another agent.
What does general liability insurance cover in Kentucky?
General liability insurance protects you from claims and lawsuits that can affect your business due to business activities. It is also known as “slip and fall” insurance because it protects you if someone unrelated to your business is injured—for example if they slip and fall on their way into your business.
General liability insurance typically covers the following:
Physical injuries
This is referred to as “bodily injury” in insurance terms and refers to any physical harm caused to a third party. For example, if you are a personal trainer and one of your clients is injured during a workout, you may be legally obligated to pay for the treatment. Your general liability should cover such expenses.
This also includes product liability. If your products cause any harm to anyone, your general liability insurance might protect you.
Personal injuries
Personal injury insurance is a component of a general liability business insurance policy that covers claims for damage to a party’s name or reputation. This can take the form of libel, which is defined as written or visual defamation, or slander, which is defined as verbal defamation.
It can happen when you directly or indirectly mention or allude to a competitor’s inferiority. For example, if you are a contractor and post a video on social media comparing the quality of your work to that of a competitor, you could be sued for libel. If you’re a personal trainer and make a joke about another trainer, and the subject of your joke doesn’t find it funny and decides to sue, your General Liability policy will cover you.
Property damage
Property damage covers you from damages to other people’s property while doing business. For instance, as a laundry service company, your client may sue you for spoiling the fabric of their clothes.
Sometimes, it can also cover damages to clients’ properties that are not business-related but happen on your premises. For example, while at your café, one of your attendants accidentally spills coffee on a client’s laptop. Your general liability might cover such damages.
Requirements for general liability insurance in Kentucky
General Liability Insurance is not required for Kentucky businesses. More so, Kentucky is a state that applies the rule of pure comparative negligence.
According to the comparative negligence rule, when an accident occurs, the fault or negligence of each party involved is determined by their respective contributions to the accident. This enables insurers to assign blame and pay insurance claims under the law.
In Kentucky, the laws allow the plaintiff to receive compensation even if they are found to be 99% at fault for the accident. The plaintiff can still recover 1% of the assessed damages from the defendant.
Also, the general personal injury and products liability statute of limitations is one year.
Why should small businesses in Kentucky get general liability insurance?
Business can be tricky and risky at the same time. Accidents can happen anytime, with businesses spending a lot of money on legal fees. Such financial stress can have a significant impact on a company’s future.
Small business owners particularly may have to make unfavorable changes. Some might have to do budget cuts or have layoffs to cope with such issues. In some cases, the problems might even make the business fold up.
Purchasing general liability insurance is a great way to give yourself the confidence to move forward with the knowledge that you’re covered if something goes wrong.
A general liability policy will cover you if someone files a claim against your company in response to bodily injury, personal injury, or property damage. The coverage includes the salary of your legal counsel, witness, and evidence costs. It will also cover any compensation the court ultimately determines you owe to the other party.
General liability is needed to protect you from lawsuits, but you need it for other reasons. Firstly, you will need it for client acquisition. This is important as some companies in Kentucky do not offer contracts to businesses that do not have general liability insurance.
To get contracts from these companies, your business has to present its general liability insurance certificate. That said, here are some examples of business owners in Kentucky who may require general liability insurance:
- General contractors may be required to have general liability coverage as part of their state’s license requirements.
- Fitness instructors may need this coverage as part of their certification, and it is usually required if they work at a gym.
- Anyone looking to rent a commercial property in Kentucky may be required to have coverage as part of their commercial lease.
How much does general liability insurance cost in Kentucky?
The cost of liability insurance in Kentucky can vary significantly between insurance companies. A typical small business in Kentucky might pay between $300 and $4,000 annually in premium for their general liability insurance.
The final cost you will pay for general liability might, however, differ from these estimates. Be sure to shop around with a few companies or with a digital broker like CoverWallet or commercialinsurance.net to compare several quotes before making your final decision.
What affects the cost of general liability insurance in Kentucky?
You might wonder why there is an extensive range in the estimate of general liability cost. The reason is that the cost varies from one company to another.
Every company has a unique metric to determine the cost of their general liability insurance. To calculate your general liability estimates, insurance companies will consider the following factors:
The amount of risk involved in your business
When you pay for general liability, you pay the insurance company to carry some risk on your behalf. These risks will differ depending on the type of industry where you are.
For instance, construction workers have more risks at work because they work with dangerous equipment. As a result, a construction company will pay more for general liability than a laundry service company.
To get your business type, the insurance company will request the SIC code of your business. This is a 4-digit code that tells what industry you belong to. The insurer can classify your business using the industry and decide how much you will pay.
Location of your business in Kentucky
Some locations in Kentucky are prone to natural disasters, so businesses in these areas will have to pay more for their general liability insurance. For instance, businesses in areas like Louisville or places around the Ohio River might pay more because those areas have had flood issues in the past.
Similarly, since general liability primarily deals with court settlements, you might pay more if legal fees are generally high in your area.
The size of your business
To calculate your premium, your insurer will consider the size of your business. This is why most insurance companies ask you for your business’s annual gross sales and the payroll of your employees.
All these values help them correctly value the size of your company. Ideally, the larger your company based on these values, the more you will pay to protect it.
How long have you been in business?
A business that has been in business for a while has an edge over new businesses. That’s because new businesses tend to make more mistakes. However, older established companies have the experience to avoid problems. So, new business owners might pay more for their general liability insurance.
Your claims history.
If you have had a claim before, you may pay higher for your premium. Insurance companies believe that people who have had claims will likely have more claims. Some companies might not even offer you insurance if you have too many claims.
How to find cheap general liability insurance in Kentucky?
General liability insurance policies are relatively inexpensive, so preparing for the worst won’t be so expensive. However, if you feel the quotes you got are too expensive, there are a few things you can do to reduce the quotes:
Look for cheap quotes
The beauty of insurance today is that there are several options available to you. So, if you feel a company’s policy is overpriced, you can walk away and find someone that offers you a better deal. However, be careful or ridiculous prices. Low prices sometimes mean less protection.
The best way to find cheaper quotes is to get several quotes and compare. Working with a digital broker like CoverWallet or commercialinsurance.net is a good way to get and compare several quotes fast and easily.
Ask for discounts
As simple as it sounds, this can help you as well. Most insurers have discounts for their customers. In most cases, they will tell you. However, some others might not expressly tell you. So, if you want a discount, simply ask the company if they offer you discounts. They might show you their discounts and check if you qualify. Some discounts you may qualify for include:
- Some insurers offer a discount for first-time buyers.
- You may get a discount for paying with your debit card
- Some insurers give discounts to customers that pay their insurance in full.
- You might get a discount for buying multiple policies.
Learn more at the cheapest general liability insurance companies.
