Professional services
Business Insurance Cost Calculator
Works business insurance cost, where the premium is driven by payroll and revenue more than by choice.
Result
The purpose here is deciding which policies apply, not pricing them precisely. Rates are inputs because real rates come from underwriting your specific operation, and the hazard factor is a planning multiplier rather than a rating formula. What the profile questions actually determine is coverage need: employees mean workers compensation, which is mandatory in almost every state and is not something a general liability policy covers. Giving advice clients rely on means professional liability, which general liability excludes. Holding customer data means cyber exposure, and holding payment or sensitive records raises it sharply because notification and regulatory obligations scale with what you hold. Business vehicles mean commercial auto, and personal policies exclude business use.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Each line totalled annually and monthly, with the share of revenue shown. Most commercial lines are rated on exposure rather than on a flat price: general liability and workers compensation are driven by payroll and classification, property by values at risk, and vehicle by units and use. That is why premium rises with growth even with no change in cover.
What moves the number
- Payroll, which rates workers compensation and often liability.
- Classification codes, which can be wrong and are worth auditing.
- Values at risk for property and equipment.
- Claims experience, which follows the business for years.
Where this one goes wrong
Classification codes are worth auditing, because a business rated in a higher-risk class than its actual work performs is paying more every year and the error persists quietly. Equally, understating payroll or misclassifying to reduce premium produces an audit adjustment with arrears rather than a saving. Premium also rises with growth automatically, so a budget built on last year's figure runs short in a growing business, and that is worth anticipating rather than discovering.
Before you quote
- Audit classification codes against the work actually performed.
- Budget for premium rising with payroll and revenue.
- Report payroll accurately, since audits adjust with arrears.
Questions
About this calculator
Why did my premium rise without changing cover?
Because most commercial lines are rated on exposure: payroll, revenue and values at risk. Growth raises the premium automatically, which means a budget built on last year's figure runs short in a growing business and is worth anticipating.
Can I reduce premium by changing classification?
Only to the correct classification. Auditing codes is worthwhile because a business rated in a higher-risk class than its work warrants overpays quietly for years. Misclassifying downward produces an audit adjustment with arrears, which is a cost rather than a saving.
How long does a claim affect premium?
Typically for several years, since experience rating looks back over a period rather than at the last year. That is part of why small claims are sometimes better absorbed than reported, and worth discussing with a broker before filing.
The formula
each line = its exposure base x its rate x the hazard factor, included only where your profile calls for it
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How to use this calculator
- Annual revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $850,000.
- Annual payroll ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $310,000.
- Employees. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 5.
- Business vehicles. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 2.
- Equipment, contents and stock value ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $120,000.
- Work involves. Enter your own figure; the page starts at Site visits and light physical work.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total premium, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue | $850,000 |
| Annual payroll | $310,000 |
| Employees | 5 |
| Business vehicles | 2 |
| Equipment, contents and stock value | $120,000 |
| Work involves | Site visits and light physical work |
| Do you give professional advice or design? | No |
| Do you hold customer personal or payment data? | Some, names and contact details |
| General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue | $8 |
| Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll | $3.5 |
| Property rate per $1,000 of value | $6 |
| Commercial auto per vehicle | $1,900 |
| Professional liability rate per $1,000 of revenue | $6 |
| Cyber base premium | $950 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total premium main result | $23,120 |
| Policies your profile calls for | General liability, workers compensation, property, commercial auto, cyber |
| General liability | $6,800 |
| Workers compensation | $10,850 |
| Property and contents | $720 |
| Commercial auto | $3,800 |
| Professional liability | $0 |
| Cyber | $950 |
| Per month | $1,927 |
| As a share of revenue | 2.7% |
Your profile calls for General liability, workers compensation, property, commercial auto, cyber, coming to roughly $23,120 a year, or $1,927 a month and 2.7% of revenue. General liability is $6,800 and workers compensation $10,850.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only annual revenue, this is what happens to estimated total premium. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Annual revenue ($) | Estimated total premium |
|---|---|
| $425,000 | $19,720 |
| $637,500 | $21,420 |
| $850,000 example above | $23,120 |
| $1,275,000 | $26,520 |
| $1,700,000 | $29,920 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Annual revenue ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 100000000, starting at $850,000.
- Annual payroll ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000000, starting at $310,000.
- Employees
- A number, between 0 and 10000, starting at 5.
- Business vehicles
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 2.
- Equipment, contents and stock value ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000000, starting at $120,000.
- Work involves
- Choose from Office or advisory work only, Site visits and light physical work, Heights, hot work, heavy equipment or excavation.
- Do you give professional advice or design?
- Choose from No, Yes, clients rely on our recommendations.
- Do you hold customer personal or payment data?
- Choose from No, Some, names and contact details, Yes, payment or sensitive records.
- General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 500, starting at $8.
- Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200, starting at $3.5.
- Property rate per $1,000 of value ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200, starting at $6.
- Commercial auto per vehicle ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 50000, starting at $1,900.
- Professional liability rate per $1,000 of revenue ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 500, starting at $6.
- Cyber base premium ($)
- A money amount, between 0 and 200000, starting at $950.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total premium | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Policies your profile calls for | A category or planning selection, rather than a measured quantity. |
| General liability | A money figure. |
| Workers compensation | A money figure. |
| Property and contents | A money figure. |
| Commercial auto | A money figure. |
| Professional liability | A money figure. |
| Cyber | A money figure. |
| Per month | A money figure. |
| As a share of revenue | A percentage. |
Keep going
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