Know what coverage your business actually needs.

Three questions, one honest answer

1. 01

   Your trade

   Pick from ~40 seeded trades — cleaner, consultant, food truck, GC.

2. 02

   Your state

   All 50 + DC, including the four monopolistic state-fund states.

3. 03

   Your headcount

   Employees drive the workers’-comp answer more than anything else.

You get a policy checklist tiered required by law / commonly required by clients / worth considering, each with typical annual ranges and a “compare quotes” link. Run the checker →

The six business lines we cover

Business coverage only — never personal, pet, home warranty, or health.

• GLGeneral liabilityThe slip-and-fall and property-damage policy nearly every business starts with.check →
• BOPBusiness owner's policyGeneral liability plus property, bundled — usually cheaper than buying each apart.check →
• WCWorkers' compEmployee-injury coverage. Required by most states once you hire — rules vary widely.check →
• PLProfessional liability / E&OCovers your advice and services, not your ladder. Claims-made mechanics matter.check →
• AUTOCommercial autoWork vehicles and business use of personal cars — where the exclusions bite.check →
• CYBERCyber liabilityData, payments, and breach costs for operations that hold customer information.check →

• Cleaning / janitorialModerate risk
• Landscaping / lawn careModerate risk
• HandymanModerate risk
• General contractorHigh risk
• Consultant (business/strategy)Low risk
• Food truckHigh risk
• ElectricianHigh risk
• PhotographerLow risk

Coverage topics

• General LiabilityThe slip-and-fall policy: what GL covers, excludes, and typically costs→
• Business Owner's PolicyGL + property bundled — when the bundle beats à-la-carte→
• Workers' CompEmployee-injury coverage: state mandates, class codes, audits, e-mods→
• Professional Liability & E&OCoverage for advice and services — claims-made mechanics decoded→
• Commercial AutoWork vehicles, business use of personal cars, hired & non-owned auto→
• Cyber LiabilityData, payments, and breach coverage for small operations→
• Contractors & TradesConstruction, handyman, electrical, landscaping coverage stacks→
• Cleaning & JanitorialGL + janitorial bonds + the COI gate to commercial contracts→
• Food & HospitalityFood trucks, caterers, vendors — where auto meets liability→
• Online & ProfessionalE-commerce sellers, consultants, freelancers — product + E&O risk→
• State RequirementsWhat each state actually mandates, including the monopolistic four→
• Costs, Quotes & CarriersTypical ranges, what drives them, and how the sellers compare→
• Claims & CertificatesCOIs, additional insureds, audits, and filing claims without regret→

• Thimble vs. NEXT: Gig-Friendly Coverage ComparedThimble sells insurance by the hour, day, or month; NEXT sells annual policies with instant certificates. For event vendors, side hustles, and gig trades, the right answer is mostly arithmetic about how often you actually work — here's the honest version of that math.Maya Trent · Aug 2, 2026
• Workers' Comp Requirements by State (All 50, One Table)Most states require workers' comp at the first employee — but not all, and four states make you buy it from a state fund. One table covers every state's general threshold, the monopolistic four, sole-proprietor and officer exemptions, and what enforcement looks like when you skip required coverage.Dan Reyes · Aug 2, 2026
• Professional Liability Insurance, Explained for Service BusinessesProfessional liability covers your advice, not your ladder. Here's what E&O actually pays for, how claims-made policies and retroactive dates really work, what tail coverage is for, and what service businesses typically pay — with every figure sourced.Maya Trent · Aug 2, 2026
• NEXT vs. Hiscox for Small Business CoverageTwo direct writers, two opposite theories of what a small business wants: NEXT's app-first speed and instant certificates against Hiscox's profession-by-profession underwriting depth. Here's who each one actually fits, trade by trade — with every cost figure sourced.Maya Trent · Aug 1, 2026
• Simply Business vs. Hiscox: Marketplace or Direct?This isn't two carriers head-to-head — it's two different machines. Simply Business is a marketplace that shops a panel of insurers from one application; Hiscox is a direct writer underwriting its own paper. We map which machine fits which buyer, and why the smartest move is often running both.Maya Trent · Aug 1, 2026
• What Is General Liability Insurance? What It Covers (and Doesn't)General liability is the policy nearly every commercial contract asks about — and the most misunderstood. Here's what it actually covers, the bad-work myth it doesn't, how to read your declarations page, and what published data says it typically costs.Maya Trent · Aug 1, 2026