Methodology

Where the cost ranges come from

Our dollar figures are published typical ranges from insurers’ and marketplaces’ own public cost pages — chiefly Insureon and Hiscox — each shown with its source and an as-of date wherever it appears. We don’t scrape rate tables or republish licensed rating data; we cite what sellers publish and explain it.

A trade’s position within a published spread is nudged by an editorial multiplier — a roofing contractor sits near the top of the general-liability range, a bookkeeper near the bottom — reflecting the risk carriers price. That multiplier moves a range; it never becomes a quote.

How the coverage checker decides

The checker is rules-based, not a black box:

• General liability for nearly every business, and flagged as client-required when your contracts gate on a certificate.
• Business owner’s policy when you have premises or equipment exposure worth bundling.
• Professional liability / E&O when you’re paid for advice or a professional service.
• Workers’ comp by state law and headcount (see below).
• Commercial auto when vehicles are used for work, and cyber when you take payments or hold customer data.

The workers’-comp math

Workers’ comp isn’t a flat price — it’s a formula: rate × (payroll ÷ 100) × experience mod. Published state indexes average about $1.03 per $100 of payroll, from roughly $0.67 in North Dakota to about $1.52 in California (advisory, after the September 2025 filing), and your class code moves it more than headcount alone. Four states are monopolistic — Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming — where coverage is sold only through the state fund, not a marketplace. The checker says so and drops the compare link for that policy.

What we deliberately don’t do

• No invented statistics — a figure without a public source doesn’t ship.
• No premium promises. CTAs say “compare quotes” / “check your rate,” never “get covered for $X.”
• No fear-selling, no fake urgency, no star ratings on carriers (insurance has no honest star rating).
• No individualized advice — we’re researchers, not agents. Confirm required-by-law items with a licensed agent in your state.

Read our editorial standards for who writes this and how we handle money, or try the coverage checker.