Business Insurance New York City

Get Great Coverage in Minutes
All it takes is a few clicks.
Quote Today

Business Insurance NYC

nyc small business insuranceNew York City is full of small businesses. In fact, 98% of businesses in the city have fewer than 100 employees.1 And 89% have fewer than 20 employees.2 Small businesses in NYC employ more than half of the city’s private sector workforce.3 Still, opening a small business in The Big Apple isn’t easy. Businesses face layers of government regulation and also have to worry about external risks and liability. A U.S. Small Business Administration report in 2018 found turnovers followed closely with business openings in the third quarter of 2016.4
 
Business insurance doesn’t guarantee a business’s success. But NYC small business insurance is essential to a business’ survival because it lessens the impact of potential risks. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to New York business insurance. Each business faces unique risks and requires different levels of coverage. We offer comprehensive business insurance for NYC businesses of all types and sizes. We’ve been in business for over 200 years. Our small business team is dedicated to helping you get the coverage you need to protect your NYC business.
 

Types of NYC Small Business Insurance Coverage

Business insurance in New York depends on the type of business you have and the amount of risk you’re exposed to. A Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) is a convenient starting point for many small businesses.
 

NYC Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)

A BOP combines business property, general liability and business income coverages into one convenient policy.
 
NYC business property insurance helps protect a business’s physical location. Also known as commercial property insurance, it can even protect your property used for conducting business, such as equipment and inventory. Coverage applies whether the business property is owned or rented.
 
NYC general liability insurance can help protect NYC businesses from the financial costs of certain claims alleging:
 
  • Property damage
  • Bodily injury
  • Personal and advertising injury
NYC business income insurance covers your NYC business’s lost income if you’re unable to operate because of a covered loss. This includes theft or fire damage.
 
Bundled together, each of these coverages provides a general level of protection for NYC businesses. Get a quote to get your business started on a BOP.
 
If your business has unique risks, you can customize your BOP and add more coverage. Consider these coverages:
 

NYC Workers’ Compensation Insurance

business insurance nycIn New York, it's state mandated that nearly every employer have workers’ compensation insurance.5 Workers’ comp helps protect you and your employees from the financial impact of a work-related injury and illness. It helps you by limiting your liability from work-related accidents. It also helps protect your employees by providing benefits if they become ill or hurt because of their job.
 
You can comply with state law by getting coverage from a licensed insurer, like The Hartford.
 
This insurance can help your NYC employees if they:
 
  • Trip over a box in the office and need to go to the emergency room. Workers’ compensation can help cover their ER bill and other costs for necessary treatment to recover.
  • Develop carpal tunnel syndrome from poor ergonomics in the office. Workers’ compensation can help cover their cost to treat their repetitive stress injury.
  • Have a severe allergic reaction after coming into contact with an allergen at work. Workers’ comp can help cover their treatment costs to recover from the allergic reaction.
  • Passes away from an accident while using machinery at work. The family files a lawsuit after the death. Workers' comp can help the family pay for the funeral. The coverage can also help you pay the legal fees associated with the lawsuit.
Workers' comp doesn't provide benefits for a non-work-related personal injury. It also doesn't provide benefits if your employee is:
 
  • At fault for an unintentional accident.
  • Intoxicated during the accident.

NYC Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance helps protect businesses from car crashes when you or one of your employees is at fault. This coverage helps pay for property damage and medical expenses. Workers’ comp coverage can also help cover costs if there is a fatality in the crash.
 
Consider commercial auto insurance if you have:
 
  • Owned, leased or rented vehicles.
  • Employees who drive for business.
  • Employees that operate vehicles that are leased, rented or owned.

Professional Liability Insurance

Sometimes you or your employee may make a mistake. If a customer thinks a mistake had a financial impact, they can sue your business. Professional liability insurance helps protect you if you're found negligent. This insurance is also known as errors and omissions insurance.
 
For example, one of your accountants makes a clerical error. Their mistake costs your client hundreds of thousands of dollars. The customer files a lawsuit. Professional liability coverage can help cover your costs to defend your business.
 

NYC Data Breach Insurance

If your NYC small business stores customer or employee information, consider data breach insurance. This coverage can help cover your cost for identity protection solutions and legal fees if you experience a breach of personally identifiable information. This coverage can help your business take quick action and help you restore public confidence in your business after a breach.
 
Data breach coverage can help protect your business if:
 
  • A company network used to store client information is breached.
  • Customer information is leaked after your employee accidentally saves it on an insecure network.
  • The cloud-based server your business uses to store customer information gets hacked. Customer information gets stolen and leaked.
In these examples, data breach coverage can help cover your costs to notify affected customers. It can also help pay for the fees associated with offering customers credit monitoring services.
 

New York City Home-Based Business Insurance

Home-based business insurance helps protect businesses that are run out of a residence. These businesses can range from consulting practices to retail operations. Home-based business insurance can be a good idea because it provides more coverage than a homeowners insurance policy. This means if your home-based business experiences a loss, your homeowners insurance policy may not cover it.
 
New York City business owners should consider home-based business insurance if:
 
  • Customers or clients visit the residence for business.
  • Business inventory or supplies are stored at the residence.
  • Other employees work from out of the residence.
  • Client records are stored on a computer inside the residence.

NYC Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Commercial umbrella insurance provides businesses with liability coverage beyond what's covered under their general liability insurance policy. This type of coverage goes into effect if the cost of a lawsuit or claim exceeds the limits of underlying coverage.
 
Commercial umbrella insurance can help cover a business if:
 
  • A customer is injured on the business property. The cost of the medical expenses are more than the general liability policy limits.
  • A business error results in a catastrophic lawsuit and generates legal costs exceeding coverage limits.
  • A customer visits your home-based business. They slip and fall on loose carpeting. He breaks his arm and leg in the fall. His medical costs exceed your general liability coverage limits.

Minimum NYC Business Insurance Requirements

nyc business insuranceInsurance requirements differ from state to state. Check with an insurance professional to ensure you have the required amount of coverage. At a minimum, New York requires businesses with employees to carry workers’ compensation coverage. Get a quote to find out what insurance your NYC business needs today.
 

NYC Industries We Serve

The Hartford offers NYC business insurance to just about every industry. Some industries we cover include:
 
  • Arborists & Landscaping
  • Business Services
  • Cultural
  • Energy
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing
  • Personal Care Services
  • Printing & Publishing
  • Professional Services
  • Restaurants & Food
  • Security
  • Technology
  • Associations
  • Contractors & Construction
 

Additional NYC Small Business Insurance Coverages

Links to Additional Cities in New York

We offer New York business insurance coverage to other cities in New York, including:
 
 
Last Updated: March 20, 2023
 
 
4 U.S. Small Business Administration, “2018 Small Business Profile: New York”
 
 
Additional disclosures below.
The Hartford shall not be liable for any damages in connection with the use of any information provided on this page. Please consult with your insurance agent/broker or insurance company to determine specific coverage needs as this information is intended to be educational in nature.
 
The information contained on this page should not be construed as specific legal, HR, financial, or insurance advice and is not a guarantee of coverage. In the event of a loss or claim, coverage determinations will be subject to the policy language, and any potential claim payment will be determined following a claim investigation.
 
Certain coverages vary by state and may not be available to all businesses. All Hartford coverages and services described on this page may be offered by one or more of the property and casualty insurance company subsidiaries of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. listed in the Legal Notice.
 
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, CT. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s Legal Notice.
 
* Customer reviews are collected and tabulated by The Hartford and not representative of all customers.
Get a Business Insurance Quote