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Independent 2026 cost reference

General Liability Insurance Cost in 2026: What Small Businesses Actually Pay

Small businesses that bought general liability through Insureon pay an average of $45 per month, and their annual premiums run from $265 to $3,030. Progressive Commercial reports a $55 monthly median ($79 average) for its new customers in 2025. Both are premiums on policies actually sold. Industry moves your number most: Insureon's median runs from $29 a month for consulting to $82 for construction.

Insureon average
$45/mo
Insureon annual range
$265-$3,030/yr
Progressive median
$55/mo
Construction median
$82/mo

Figures checked on the publishers' own pages on 13 November 2026: Insureon ($45 average; 22% pay under $30 a month, 41% pay $30 to $60, annual policies $265 to $3,030) and Progressive Commercial ($79 average, $55 median, new customers, 2025). Both report premiums on policies they actually sold, not quoted estimates. Insureon's customers mostly have fewer than five employees.

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Median GL premium, construction
$82/ month
About $984 a year (monthly median x 12)
Average across all industries, All states: $45/mo
Progressive Commercial median, new customers in 2025, all industries: $55/mo
Figures are what Insureon customers paid, as published on Insureon's industry and state cost pages, and Progressive's cost page, read 13 November 2026. Insureon's customers mostly have fewer than five employees. Your own quote depends on the factors below. We do not collect your data.
What moves your quote above or below the medianv
Annual revenue
Carriers rate many classes on sales, so higher revenue means a higher premium.
Employees and payroll
Some classes are rated on payroll; more staff means more exposure.
Claims history
A paid claim in the last few years raises the quote or narrows carrier choice.
Limits
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the common small-business standard; higher limits cost more.
Deductible
A higher deductible lowers the premium in exchange for more out of pocket per claim.
Exact class code
A roofer and an interior painter are both construction, but they are rated very differently.
Cost by industry

Median general liability premium by industry group

Insureon publishes the median monthly GL premium its customers pay in ten industry groups. The median sits below the average because it ignores a few very high and very low premiums. Our industry guides sit inside these groups.

Industry groupMedian per monthOur guides
Construction$82Contractors, Handyman, Electricians, Plumbers
Installation$73HVAC
Landscaping$51Landscaping
Cleaning$48Cleaning
Food and beverage$44Restaurants
Healthcare$31-
Technology$30IT services
Consulting$29Consultants
Therapy and counseling$29-
Insurance$29-

Source: Insureon, small business insurance costs by industry (updated 6 February 2026, from 100,000 small businesses that bought through Insureon), read 13 November 2026. All 18 industry guides.

Six factors that move your premium

Where the variance comes from

No carrier prices on a single number. Premiums are built up from a base class rate, then adjusted for the factors below.

Largest single factor

Industry / classification

The biggest driver. In Insureon's published medians, construction businesses pay $82 a month and consulting businesses $29. Within a group, the exact class code (a roofer versus an interior painter) moves the rate further.

Rating basis for many classes

Annual revenue

Many classes are rated on gross sales, because sales stand in for how much business, and how many customer contacts, you have. More revenue means a higher premium.

Rating basis for many trades

Payroll and employees

Some classes, mostly trades, are rated on payroll instead of sales. More staff on site means more chances for an incident.

Raises the quote

Claims history

A paid claim in the last few years raises the quote and can narrow the carriers willing to write you. A clean record is the cheapest discount there is.

Higher limit, higher premium

Coverage limits

$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the common small-business standard. Higher limits cost more; an umbrella policy above GL is priced separately.

Smaller than industry

State

Insureon's state averages across all industries run from $42 a month (California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina) to $55 (Florida). Industry moves the premium more than state does.

Published reference points

What the data sources say

Premium figures vary across published sources because each samples a different mix of customers and class codes. Treat them as overlapping ranges, not single facts.

Small-business GL average (Insureon)
$45/mo

Average monthly premium across small businesses that bought GL through Insureon. Most have fewer than five employees and five years or less in business.

New-customer GL (Progressive Commercial)
$55/mo median

Progressive Commercial's median monthly premium for its new customers in 2025. The average was $79, pulled up by a minority of larger policies.

How Insureon customers spread
63% under $60/mo

22% of Insureon's GL customers pay under $30 a month and another 41% pay $30 to $60. Annual premiums run from $265 to $3,030.

Sources: Insureon general liability cost (updated 30 March 2026) and Progressive Commercial general liability cost (2025 new customers), both read 13 November 2026. These are what customers paid, not quotes; carriers rate individually and your quote can sit well above or below them.

Where to read next

The seven decisions that decide your premium and your protection

Once you have a baseline number, the work moves to scope. Do you need GL or a BOP? Will your lease or a client contract dictate higher limits? Do you actually need professional liability instead, or both? Read the dedicated pages.

What GL covers
3 core coverages and 8 exclusions
Do I need it?
20+ business types rated
Certificate of insurance
Why landlords and clients require one
GL vs E&O
Cost comparison by business type
GL vs BOP
Which saves you more?
Cost by state
50-state index vs national
8 ways to save
Dollar savings, not just percents
Contractor deep-dive
By sub-trade
FAQ

Nine questions buyers ask before they shop

How much is general liability insurance per month?+
Insureon publishes a $45 monthly average across the small businesses that bought general liability through it, with 22 percent paying under $30 a month and 41 percent paying $30 to $60. Progressive Commercial publishes a $79 monthly average and a $55 median for its new customers in 2025. Both are premiums on policies actually sold, read on the publishers' own pages on 13 November 2026. Industry moves the figure most: Insureon's median is $29 a month for consulting businesses and $82 for construction.
What is the average cost of general liability insurance for a small business?+
Insureon reports that its small-business customers pay an average of $45 a month, with annual premiums running from $265 to $3,030. Progressive Commercial reports a $79 monthly average and a $55 median for its new customers in 2025. Most Insureon customers have fewer than five employees, so larger businesses should expect more. Use the calculator above for the published median in your industry group; treat any single national figure as an average across very different businesses.
What does general liability insurance cover?+
GL covers three things: third-party bodily injury (a customer trips in your shop), third-party property damage (you damage a client's flooring while installing equipment), and personal and advertising injury (libel, slander, copyright in your marketing). It does not cover employee injuries, professional mistakes, your own property, or vehicles. See our coverage guide for scenarios and exclusions.
Is general liability insurance required by law?+
GL is not federally required for most businesses. It is, however, frequently mandatory in practice. Most commercial leases require it. Most B2B and government contracts require it. State contractor licensing boards in Florida, Oregon, and Washington require proof of GL to issue or renew a contractor license, and California requires it for contractors licensed as LLCs. Several states (Arizona, North Carolina) require only a surety bond for the license itself, though projects, permits, and contracts there still routinely demand GL.
Is general liability insurance tax deductible?+
Yes. The IRS treats GL premiums as an ordinary and necessary business expense, deductible on Schedule C for sole proprietors, on the appropriate entity return for partnerships, S-corps, and C-corps, and against rental income for landlords. Always confirm specifics with your tax advisor.
What is the difference between per-occurrence and aggregate limits?+
The per-occurrence limit is the most the policy pays for any single claim. The aggregate limit caps total payouts in the policy year. The standard small-business policy is written at $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. If a single claim hits the per-occurrence cap, the aggregate is reduced by that amount for the rest of the year.
Is a BOP cheaper than buying GL alone?+
A Business Owners Policy (BOP) bundles GL with commercial property and business interruption coverage in one policy, so it costs more than GL alone. Insureon reports its customers pay an average of $83 a month for a BOP against $45 a month for GL alone. If you need property coverage anyway, price the BOP against standalone GL plus property before you buy.
How can I lower my general liability premium?+
The most reliable savings come from bundling into a BOP if you also need property cover, keeping a clean claims record, choosing a higher deductible, confirming your class code matches what you actually do (a wrong code can price you as a riskier trade), and shopping the renewal with at least three carriers.
Do I need general liability or professional liability?+
Most service businesses need both. GL covers physical incidents (injury, property damage). Professional liability, also called errors & omissions (E&O), covers financial harm from your professional advice or services. A consultant whose advice causes a client to lose money would file under E&O, not GL. See our comparison page for cost data by business type.
Need professional liability too?

If your work involves professional advice, services, or design, you may need errors & omissions (professional liability) coverage in addition to GL. We publish a separate cost guide for that at our sister site, professionalliabilityinsurancecost.com.

Reader schedule

Got a premium question these pages do not settle?

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What comes back
An answer where we have one, naming the carrier filing, marketplace study or regulator page it rests on. Where we cannot answer we say so rather than guess, and we do not promise a turnaround time.
If we publish it
Only stripped of your name, your company and anything that could identify you, and only once you have said it is fine.

None of this is financial or insurance advice, and we are neither a broker nor a carrier. Every premium is underwritten against one specific business, its payroll, its claims record and the endorsements attached to the form, so only a licensed agent or the carrier itself can quote you a number or tell you what a policy wording actually does.

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