Georgia (GA) Business Insurance

Choose The Hartford for All Your Georgia Business Insurance Needs

When starting a new business, it is essential to understand the business insurance requirements in your state, as business insurance is required in most states for a business to operate. Georgia ranks as the 8th best state in the U.S. to start a business and has been ranked as the number one state for business for five consecutive years.¹ Small businesses make up 97.7% of Georgia’s businesses.² The Hartford has served thousands of small business in Georgia for more than 100 years and can help you with Georgia small business insurance requirements.

Types of Georgia Business Insurance Coverages Offered

Georgia Business Owner’s Policy

A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) incorporates business property and business liability insurance into one policy. BOP insurance is used by many small businesses to provide coverage for claims resulting from disasters, property damage, or bodily injury. For example, consider a BOP for your Georgia small business if:

Your business has property or assets that can be stolen or broken – whether they are furniture, computers, digital assets, private data, or products.
Your business has employees or customers that could be injured in the workplace with heavy machinery or by performing day-to-day tasks.
Your business rents or owns a physical location where injuries could happen, or illnesses could be shared.

General Liability Insurance

General Liability insurance (GL), also referred to as business liability insurance, is coverage that will protect your business from potential claims like bodily injury, property damage, and/or personal and advertising injury claims. The Hartford offers General Liability insurance to protect you and your small business in the event of the following:

A bodily injury takes place on your property and the injury results in costly medical bills and/or a lawsuit.
Your employee damages a customer’s property while on the job.
You or your business is accused of libel, slander, or copyright infringement in connection with the advertising of your goods or services.

Commercial Flood Insurance

Commercial Flood insurance which is available from The Hartford through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIB) helps protect your business in the event of damages caused by floodwater. A commercial flood insurance policy helps cover the costs resulting from damage to physical contents and assets of a company such as furniture, computers, inventory as well as the losses caused to the location of your business like walls, ceilings, and roofing. Most business property insurance policies don’t cover flood damage. Consider purchasing commercial flood insurance from The Hartford for help protecting your business in the event of the following:

A flash flood comes through your area and floods the warehouse where your product is stored and shipped.
Your business is in an area where natural disasters take place often.
A heavy rain causes flooding that damages your business property.

Georgia Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Most states require businesses to provide Workers Compensation Insurance (workers’ comp) to ensure that employees receive fast and fair compensation for injuries or illnesses caused by or received while on the job. Workers’ compensation insurance covers employees’ wages from lost work time, medical care, medication, and more. If the employee or their family files a lawsuit due to an accident or injury, workers’ compensation insurance can help cover related legal fees for your Georgia business. The Hartford offers workers’ compensation insurance to protect your business in the case:

An employee slips on a slick floor at work and requires medical treatment and a few weeks recovery time.
An employee gets in a car accident while driving on the company’s behalf and requires a trip to the emergency room.
An employee gets a hernia from lifting heavy machinery at work and must have it surgically removed.
An employee cuts himself while preparing food for the workplace.

Georgia Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employers risk facing claims and lawsuits over wrongful termination, workplace harassment, and discrimination – the costs related to these employment practice-related claims can be significant. If you are a small business that has employees, consider employment practices liability insurance. A business owner can still be sued even if they did nothing ‘wrong’. In order to help protect your business and assets, it is important to have the right insurance policy to cover costs and damages from varying employment-related claims. The Hartford offers employment practices liability insurance as standalone coverage or it can be added to our Business Owner’s policy. Consider employment practices liability insurance if for example:

You could be accused of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Claims could be made that you violated the Family and Medical Leave Act.
A claim of wrongfully failing to promote an employee or wrongfully terminating an employee could be made against your business.

Georgia Minimum Business Insurance Requirements

Georgia law requires all employers of three of more full or part time employees to carry workers’ compensation coverage or to be a qualified self-insured. Other parties may require evidence of insurance from a business. For example, mortgagees and lienholders usually require evidence of property insurance. For specific information, visit the Georgia Department of Insurance.

Additional Georgia Business Insurance Links

Get a quote on Small Business Insurance for your business today.

¹ https://www.georgia.org/competitive-advantages/pro-business-environment

² https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/Georgia.pdf