Guide to Vendor Requirements for Workers' Comp Insurance

Owning a small business is an exciting yet challenging adventure. You get to work for yourself and put all of your effort into your passion, all while creating something to share with the world. 

If you employ anyone to assist with your company, you likely have various types of insurance required for small businesses. However, if you hire freelance workers' or contractors on the side, your insurance coverage needs may be different, specifically regarding workers’ comp insurance.

Here’s everything you need to know about insurance coverage for small businesses and how to keep your contractors safe.

What Insurance do I need for my business?

What insurance is needed for small business owners? There are certain types of insurance that are encouraged for both large and small companies, such as:

General liability insurance, which protects your business from any claims regarding bodily injury or property damage. 

Professional liability insurance, which covers claims related to mistakes made while providing professional services. 

Commercial property insurance, which protects your building and equipment used to run your business. 

Commercial auto insurance, which covers property damage, bodily injury, medical expenses, and legal costs incurred in business vehicle accidents.

Business income insurance, which provides coverage on lost income in the event of a disaster that caused property damage. 

Business owners policy, which is a bundle of general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business income insurance. 

Workers' compensation insurance, which gives full-time staff protection in the event of an accident or illness. This is only mandatory if your employees work directly for you - you don’t have to provide contractors with insurance.

Cyber liability insurance, With more people making purchases online - and spending more time on the internet in general - it’s also recommended to invest in cyber liability insurance. This type of policy provides a layer of protection for data and other sensitive information in your computer system or in the cloud.

Here at Kickstand Insurance, we offer opportunities to provide some of the other types of insurance listed above to our clients when they come on board and have an existing policy with us. We try to make it as easy as possible to get coverage as a business owner!

When do I need a workers’ comp plan for my business? 

Workers’ comp rules vary from state to state depending on the industry and the number of employees. Many states require businesses to have workers’ comp coverage when hiring the first employee. Other states vary. You can look here to find your state’s requirements. 

Even when a business is not required to have coverage, many business owners choose to get workers’ comp to protect themselves from lawsuits in case a worker gets injured. Clients may also demand that you have insurance for jobs that have to be done on their location.