Business insurance packages in California

Workers’ compensation, liability, auto, property and umbrella coverage put together for how your business actually operates.

One package

Coverage built around your industry

Most growing businesses need several policies working together. Buying them separately can leave gaps, overlaps and certificates that don’t match your contracts.

We’ll review your operations, your team and your contracts, then put together a package from multiple carriers.

Business packages crew - tradespeople gathered at start of workday
Coverage

What a business insurance package can include

Workers' compensation

Required for every California employer with at least one employee.

General liability

Including the endorsements your landlords and clients require.

Commercial auto

For company vehicles, plus employees who drive their own cars for work.

Property and equipment

Your building, contents and equipment, including equipment that moves between locations.

Good to know

What we review with you

Your industry

Your operations, locations and the kinds of clients you serve.

Your team

Employees, payroll, contractors and subcontractors.

Your contracts

Limits and endorsements your contracts require.

Your equipment

Buildings, vehicles and equipment you own or lease.

Certificates

Certificates that match your contracts

When your policies are built together, certificates are easier to issue and less likely to be rejected by a landlord or client.

In depth

Business insurance packages in California: what to know

On this page

How the pieces fit together

Business insurance packages in California usually combine several policies, each with a specific job. When they’re planned together, each one picks up where another leaves off:

  • Workers’ compensation: your employees’ work injuries, required as soon as you have one employee, plus employer’s liability for related lawsuits.
  • General liability: injuries and property damage to others caused by your operations, premises or products.
  • Commercial auto: company vehicles, plus hired and non-owned auto for rentals and employees’ own cars.
  • Commercial property: your buildings, contents, inventory and equipment, plus business income if a covered loss shuts you down.
  • Inland marine: equipment and property in transit or away from your premises.
  • Cyber liability: data breaches and ransomware, which general liability usually excludes.
  • Employment practices liability: claims from employees, such as harassment, discrimination or wrongful termination.
  • Umbrella: extra limits above general liability, auto and employer’s liability.

Common gaps

Gaps usually show up at the edges between policies. A few we see often:

  • Equipment away from your premises: property insurance often covers equipment only at listed locations. Inland marine fills that gap.
  • Employee injury lawsuits: general liability excludes employee injuries. Employer’s liability and, often, the umbrella respond instead.
  • Employees’ personal vehicles: without hired and non-owned auto, your business may have no coverage when an employee drives their own car for work.
  • New operations: adding a product, service or location your general liability doesn’t describe can leave it uncovered.
  • Misclassified workers and uninsured subcontractors: they can add premium at audit and may trigger exclusions in your general liability.
  • Data breaches: a breach usually isn’t covered by general liability or property.
  • Umbrella schedule mismatch: underlying limits below the umbrella’s requirements.

Avoiding overlaps

Overlaps cost money without adding protection. Common ones include the same equipment insured on both a property policy and an inland marine floater, hired auto on both a BOP and a commercial auto policy, and higher-than-needed underlying limits when an umbrella would provide them more efficiently.

A combined review also makes certificates simpler. When additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory endorsements are set up consistently across policies, the certificate your landlord or client receives is more likely to match the contract.

Renewal checklist

A few weeks before renewal, gather these so your package reflects your business as it is now:

  1. Payroll by job class for the past year and your estimate for the next.
  2. Revenue by line of business or location.
  3. New locations, products or services, and any you’ve closed or dropped.
  4. Vehicles added or sold, and your current driver list.
  5. Property and equipment added, with values.
  6. Contractors and subcontractors you paid, amounts and their certificates.
  7. New leases and contracts, and their insurance requirements.
  8. Claims or incidents during the year, even ones not reported.
  9. Your last audit statement and any disputes.

You can request a quote or contact us to start a review. Requesting a quote doesn’t bind coverage. We’ll compare options from multiple carriers and explain the differences.

California rules that shape your package

A few California rules shape how a business insurance package should be built:

  • Workers’ compensation is required as soon as you have one employee, including part-time employees.
  • Workers you treat as independent contractors may legally be employees under California’s ABC test, which affects both workers’ compensation and payroll at audit.
  • Business vehicles must carry at least California’s minimum auto liability limits, though contracts and leases usually require more.

These rules are why the workers’ compensation piece of your package needs as much attention as the liability limits.

What a package review looks like

A review of business insurance packages in California starts with how your business actually works, not with a list of policies. We’ll ask about:

  • What you do, where you operate and any products, services or locations you plan to add.
  • Your employees, their job duties and your payroll.
  • Contractors and subcontractors you use, and how you check their coverage.
  • Vehicles, property and equipment, and who drives.
  • The leases and contracts you sign, and what they require.

From there, we look for gaps, overlaps and certificate problems, then compare options from multiple carriers. You decide what to keep, change or add.

If you already have policies you’re happy with, we can build around them. A package doesn’t have to mean replacing everything at once. Over time, we can line up renewal dates so the pieces stay coordinated.

Keeping certificates in line with contracts

Certificate problems are one of the most common reasons a new lease, client contract or project gets held up. They usually come from a mismatch between what the contract requires and what the policies actually say.

Before you sign, read the insurance section or send it to us. Look for required limits, additional insured forms, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording, how long coverage must stay in place and umbrella requirements. Fixing a gap before you sign is easier than after.

Other coverage to consider

Depending on your industry, a package may also include professional liability (errors and omissions) for advice, design or services, cyber liability for customer and employee data, employment practices liability once your team grows, liquor liability if you sell or serve alcohol, and surety bonds for contracts or licenses that require them.

Whether they make sense depends on your operations and contracts. We’ll explain what each one does before you decide.

Packages by industry

Each industry weighs these pieces differently. A construction company focuses on workers’ compensation, subcontractors and completed operations. A transportation and logistics business puts more weight on commercial auto and cargo. Technology and professional services firms usually need professional and cyber liability, and a hospitality business looks closely at liquor liability and property. Our industry pages cover what each one usually needs.

Need a certificate of insurance?

Send us the requirements from your contract, lease or credentialing packet, including the certificate holder, additional insured and waiver of subrogation, so we can review your request.

FAQ

Business package questions, answered

Do I need all of these policies?

Not always. It depends on your industry, team and contracts. We’ll recommend what fits.

Yes. We can review what you already have and fill gaps.

Usually several policies, sometimes from different carriers, coordinated so limits, endorsements and renewal dates work together. Some carriers offer a package that combines general liability and property in one contract.

It often makes things simpler, especially for certificates and audits, but it isn’t required. We can work toward aligning dates over time.

It depends on your contracts and exposure. Many commercial contracts require limits above a standard general liability policy, and an umbrella is a common way to meet them.

Workers you treat as independent contractors may legally be employees under California’s ABC test, and uninsured subcontractors can add premium to your workers’ compensation at audit. Collect certificates and keep records for everyone you pay outside payroll.

Your current declarations pages, the insurance sections of your main leases and contracts, a vehicle and driver list, a property and equipment list with values and your payroll by job class.

Resources

Straight answers for California employers

Get started

Get a business package quote

Tell us about your industry and your team. We’ll put together options from multiple carriers.

Get a quote

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