If you are running one of the more than 283,000 small businesses in Nevada, you probably know that general liability insurance is the most popular coverage for small businesses. It protects small businesses from the most common lawsuits, which are related to bodily injuries and property damages. If small businesses can only afford one insurance policy, general liability insurance is often advised and recommended to be the one.
Small businesses in Nevada can buy general liability insurance online easily. There are several options for them to buy it online. Not only is it more convenient and faster to buy a Nevada general liability insurance policy online, it can also be cheaper as well.
- Where to buy Nevada general liability insurance online?
- Buy Nevada general liability insurance online from digital brokers
- Buy Nevada general liability insurance online from insurance companies
- Buy Nevada general liability insurance through a Business Owners Policy (BOP)
- Is general liability insurance required in Nevada?
- Which types of businesses should have general liability insurance in Nevada?
- How much does Nevada general liability insurance cost?
- How to find cheap Nevada general liability insurance?
Where to buy Nevada general liability insurance online?
You can buy Nevada general liability insurance online from either digital brokers or insurance companies that offer quotes online and allow customers to buy the policy online. The companies that allow customers to buy a policy online are also likely to offer capabilities for customers to manage the policy online as well. These tend to be newer companies or established legacy companies that have gone through the digital transformation process to build their digital capabilities.
As they are able to offer these digital capabilities, they can also cut unnecessary costs and make their rates more affordable.
Buy Nevada general liability insurance online from digital brokers
These are not insurance companies, but instead they partner with many different insurance companies to bring you several quotes, just by filling out one form. It makes it very easy to comparison shop.
– Simply Business: Best broker to find low-cost general liability coverage
– InsurePro: Best for flexible pay-per-day coverage
– CoverWallet: Best for comparing several quotes online
Buy Nevada general liability insurance online from insurance companies
These are legitimate insurance companies that operate almost completely online. You can find a policy, pay a bill, and file a claim online. It’s usually easy to get an online quote from them, too.
– NEXT: Best for contractors
– Thimble: Best for gig workers and short-term general liability coverage, ie. just a few days
– Hiscox: Best small business insurance specialist with more than 100 years of experience
Who should consider buying Nevada general liability insurance through an agent
Businesses that have complex insurance needs, like if you are in a high risk industry or if you do more than one thing, should consider talking to an agent to sort out their needs. There are definitely pros and cons to working with an agent.
Pros:
- A really good insurance agent can save you money by recommending what types of policies you need, and telling you what you don’t need
- Agents with a lot of industry experience can help you know how much insurance to purchase
- You’ll have a contact person to reach out to if you have questions or concerns
- Agents will know what discounts you might qualify for
Cons:
- Some agents work on commission, and therefore might try to sell you insurance you don’t need
- You may be pressured to spend more than you can afford
- Agents are human, and some are amazing, and others are not that great. Your experience is directly dependent on how good your agent is at their job.
Some insurance companies prefer to work through agents. Some such companies are:
– Chubb
– The Hartford
– CNA
– Allstate
– State Farm
The important thing is to shop around and get quotes from different companies.
Buy Nevada general liability insurance through a Business Owners Policy (BOP)
A business owners policy (BOP) combines general liability insurance with commercial property insurance. Sometimes these policies can also include business interruption insurance. If you own property, or if your equipment is worth a considerable amount, a business owners policy (BOP) could be perfect for you.
Pros of a BOP:
- Saves money over purchasing the policies separately
- Provides coverage that most businesses need
- It’s easy
Cons of a BOP:
- May provide more coverage than you really need
- May not provide enough protection in some cases: for example, if your equipment is really expensive, it may not cover the cost of replacement
Is general liability insurance required in Nevada?
The state of Nevada does not require general liability insurance, unless you are a construction business. However, some clients and employers do require it, especially if you’re a contractor. Some landlords will require commercial property insurance or a business owners policy before they’ll consider renting you a commercial space. Also, Nevada has no cap on economic damages in personal injury cases. That means that the amount a jury decides would compensate a victim for their damages is what the victim will get. However, Nevada law caps $350,000 on non-economic damages, or also known as pain and suffering damages.
Which types of businesses should have general liability insurance in Nevada?
Most businesses need general liability insurance. Accidents happen, and you never expect them: that’s why they’re called accidents. If you see clients at their home or in your home, if you lease a professional space for your business, or if you advertise, you should consider getting a general liability policy.
Below are the types of businesses that always get general liability insurance in Nevada:
| Restaurants | Construction firms | Plumbing |
| Landscaping | HVAC contractor | Handyman |
| Law firms | Daycare | Catering |
| Hair & beauty salons | Nail salons | Barber shops |
| Churches | Electrician | Flooring contractor |
How much general liability insurance coverage small businesses should have in Nevada?
Nevada ranks 29th out of the 50 states in the state lawsuit climate report, which means small businesses in Nevada rank the 21th in the likelihood to be sued. Many insurance carriers recommend that small businesses in Nevada have somewhere between $300,000 and $500,000 in liability insurance.
How much does Nevada general liability insurance cost?
The small businesses in Nevada pay an average of $40 per month, or $480 per year for a $500,000 general liability insurance policy.
Most small businesses in Nevada pay between $24 and $162 per month for the general liability policy. That is a wide range since general liability insurance cost varies depending on several factors that we discuss in details below.
Keep in mind that these are just the averages. Your rates will be different. Be sure to shop around with a few companies (NEXT, Thimble) or work with a top broker like InsurePro, Simply Business, or CoverWallet to compare several quotes to find the cheapest one for your business.
What factors impact Nevada general liability insurance cost?
There are many factors that will influence how much you pay for general liability insurance. Some of them are:
- Industry (some businesses carry more risks than others)
- Location (in case you hadn’t noticed, Nevada is huge. There are sprawling cities, many rural areas, and everything in between). Usually the bigger the city, the more you’ll pay
Industry and location are the factors most affecting how much you’ll pay, but other factors are:
- Revenue
- Experience in your business
- Number of employees
- Claims history
- Coverage limits
How to find cheap Nevada general liability insurance?
The best way to save money on general liability insurance (or any insurance, really) is to shop around. For just the cost of a few hours, you could save hundreds of dollars a year on insurance.
You can also bundle the policies you need. Even if you only need general liability insurance, it pays to get your car insurance or your homeowners insurance from the same company so you can get a discount.
Choose a higher deductible, but make sure you can cover the cost of the deductible if you need to file a claim.
Consider paying in full, if you can. This usually gets you a small discount.
Manage your risks appropriately. Make sure employees are well-trained. Emphasize safety over speed. Post a safety program and make sure everyone follows it.
What does Nevada general liability insurance cover?
General liability insurance covers some of the most common occurrences that people tend to sue over, like:
- Third-party bodily injury
- Property damage
- Advertising injury
- Copyright infringement
Third party bodily injury refers to customers and vendors–everyone who is not you or your employees (your employees are covered by workers’ compensation insurance, and you can’t sue yourself, so you’re not covered at all). Your business is being held accountable for someone’s injury. For example, say you run a hip, trendy vegan restaurant in San Francisco. On the way to their table, your customer trips and falls over a grape that fell out of a salad. They break a wrist. General liability insurance would cover you for that.
Third party property damage is also a key element of general liability insurance. If you visit customers in their homes, or touch their property in some way (perhaps you own a valet parking company). For example, you’re a contractor and you visit a customer to discuss adding an addition to their home. You trip over a wrinkled rug, and to catch yourself, you put out your hand. Unfortunately, your hand landed on the customer’s priceless vase. Oops. If you had general liability insurance, you would be covered and your insurance would pay for the damage (up to the limits of the policy: hopefully, it wasn’t really priceless).
Advertising injury occurs if you or your business defames another person or business and that defamation causes them financial harm. For example, if you own a bakery and in one of your ads, you mention your competitor was cited by the board of health, the owner of the maligned bakery could sue you.
Copyright infringement occurs when you use someone’s intellectual or creative property without their permission. For example, say you are redesigning your website and you come across a lovely photo that is just perfect. If you use the photo without the photographer’s permission, he/she could sue you for copyright infringement.
General liability insurance would cover the medical payments, court costs, lawyers fees, and the cost of replacing/repairing property damage.
General liability insurance doesn’t cover everything, though: anything you do with intent is not covered. Also, some things fall under different types of insurance, such as workers compensation for employee injuries and commercial property insurance which covers your own property.
Nevada business insurance
Usually, when people say “business insurance” or “small business insurance” they mean general liability insurance. While all general liability insurance is business insurance, not all business insurance is general liability insurance. There’s many types of business insurance, it’s just that general liability is the most common, and, arguably, most useful.
However, there are other types of business insurance.
Professional liability insurance
Sometimes this is called errors & omissions insurance. Anyone who gives advice or provides a service in a professional capacity needs professional liability insurance to protect themselves from mistakes and omissions. It’s also called malpractice insurance when used by medical professionals and lawyers.
Workers compensation insurance
General liability insurance only covers customers, vendors and others. If your employee gets injured on the job, you’ll need workers compensation insurance to pay for their medical costs. In Nevada, you are required to have workers compensation insurance if you have even one employee. You can buy workers compensation insurance from either a private insurance company, or you can use the state fund.
Commercial auto insurance
If you use any vehicle for business purposes, you need commercial auto insurance. Business purposes include anything from visiting clients, going to business appointments, meeting with sales people: anything other than commuting back and forth. If you drive an Uber or for Lyft, you can get rideshare insurance, but your personal insurance policy will not cover you if they find out you are using your vehicle to carry out business activities.
Commercial property insurance
Your own property is covered under commercial property insurance. Anything your business owns is protected from unforeseen events, such as fire, theft, vandalism, weather, etc. Usually damage from floods and earthquakes are not covered, but you can get them added on for an additional expense.
Cyber liability insurance
These days, almost every business conducts some business online. If you have access to customer’s sensitive information, such as banking, social security numbers, and credit cards, cyber liability insurance will protect you in case of hacking, phishing, malware or cyber attacks. Since cyber attacks can cost even a small business upwards of $2 million dollars, you should seriously consider cyber liability insurance.
D&O insurance
D&O insurance, or Directors and Officers insurance, protects the officers and directors of a company from personal losses if someone sues as a result of a decision they make. It’s like E&O insurance, but for the head(s) of a company.
Product Liability insurance
Product liability insurance protects you from lawsuits if a product you manufacture or produce causes harm or injury to someone. It has to be physical harm, so if you work in IT or SaaS, you probably don’t need product liability insurance, unless your software somehow caused a computer to catch fire.
