As a painter who paints residential homes, commercial buildings, or both, insurance for your business can keep you protected. You can be wide open to liability, from scaling ladders to teetering in precarious spots on ceilings to covering employees. For example, spilling paint across a client’s beautiful grand piano or causing a client to slip on a puddle of paint could require you to pay out of pocket if you don’t have painting contractors insurance or painter’s insurance.
We’ll cover the types of painter’s insurance coverage available, factors that affect the cost of painter’s insurance, top providers of insurance for painters, and choosing the right insurance for small painting business insurance in this article.
Types of Painter’s Insurance Coverage
You may be able to tap into several types of painting insurance coverage, from general liability to professional liability and everything in between.
General liability insurance
Sometimes business liability insurance, or general liability protects you and your business from bodily injuries and damage to property for which your company may be found responsible. For example, general liability insurance could protect your business if someone trips over your paint ladder and hurts themselves.
Commercial auto insurance
A commercial auto insurance policy works just like your personal car insurance policy. Still, it covers your commercial vehicle, whether a company van, truck, or other commercial vehicle. If one of your summer workers backs into another car on the street, your commercial auto insurance may cover it. Painter liability insurance doesn’t cover commercial auto insurance.
Workers’ compensation insurance
If employees become ill or injured on the job, workers’ compensation insurance gives employees medical, wage, and other financial benefits. For example, if an employee falls off the paint ladder and breaks their leg while on the job, workers’ compensation will fill in the gaps for that employee. Nearly every state requires businesses with employees to get workers’ compensation.
Property insurance
Property insurance is insurance that protects personal property. Commercial property insurance protects your company if unforeseen events crop up, such as:
- Fire
- Storms
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Other covered situations
However, it typically doesn’t cover floods, earthquakes, equipment breakdowns and other factors that cause you to lose business. You may have to add a rider or get an additional policy to cover certain other situations.
For example, if someone smashes all of your paint cans and vandalizes your other equipment, property insurance may cover your items.
Professional liability insurance
Professional liability insurance, or errors and omissions insurance (E&O insurance) or indemnity insurance, protects you if someone accuses you of negligence while offering your services. For example, a client could accuse you of breaking off their siding while painting the house, and your professional liability insurance may protect you.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Painter’s Insurance
Several factors can affect the cost of painter’s insurance, including the type of coverage you choose, size of your business, location, business history and risk exposure. Let’s look at each factor individually.
Type of coverage
The type of coverage you choose can affect the amount you spend on painter’s insurance. For example, if you combine two types of insurance, such as general and professional liability, you may pay more than if you had just purchased general liability.
Size of the business
Large companies can have much larger risks, and the cost of painter’s insurance may reflect that. Likewise, if you run a smaller company, it may not cost as much for insurance or you may not have as complex insurance needs.
Location of the business
Insurance companies often look at the neighborhoods around your business to give you a certain rate, so if your business is located in a bad neighborhood, you may pay more for insurance.
Your risk level may affect:
- Number of people in the area
- Car accidents
- Traffic
- Crime
- Severe weather
- Frequency of claims
Business history
Insurance companies also want to know your business history, including your claims history. Insurance companies track your claims history and look at your record when calculating your premium.
Risk exposure
Risk exposure refers to the potential loss from business activities. Insurance companies can calculate the level of exposure based on the probability of a risk incident occurring and potential losses.
Top Providers of Painter’s Insurance
We analyzed several providers and chose the top providers of painter’s insurance and best insurance for painting contractors in a summary, below.
The Hartford
Those with a painting business may benefit from The Hartfords’ commercial property, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, general liability, or professional liability insurance. The website reports that customers paid an average of $88 monthly for general liability insurance. The company will work with you to find the right type of insurance for your situation.
The Hartford, a property and casualty insurance leader, also offers group benefits and mutual funds. To learn more about your particular costs, get a quote from The Hartford.
State Farm
State Farm’s values may revolve around your needs — quality service and relationships, integrity, and financial strength. Its business owner policy (BOP) handles general liability and property insurance for small- to medium-sized businesses, like your paint business. You can tap into general liability, property insurance, loss of income, equipment breakdown, and professional liability under a BOP.
You can add other coverages like commercial auto, workers’ compensation, and a commercial liability umbrella policy. Get a quote from State Farm to get an idea of how much your individual quote will cost you.
Progressive Commercial Auto
Commercial auto insurance offers liability and physical damage protection for vehicles, such as vans and trucks for your painting business. Commercial vehicle commercial auto coverage from Progressive covers:
- Liability
- Physical damage
- Medical payments
- Uninsured motorist
- Hired auto
- Non-owned coverage
The average cost is $215 per month with Progressive, but you may have specific needs and requirements. Get a quote for your painting business’ wheels from Progressive Commercial Auto.
CNA
CNA offers U.S. commercial property and casualty insurance and provides a broad range of standard and specialized insurance products and services for businesses and professionals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The company offers commercial auto, general liability, property, workers’ compensation, and more. The company’s business insurance products and solutions can meet a variety of insurance and risk management needs for small and medium-sized businesses.
Learn more about your possible costs with a CNA quote.
Nationwide
Nationwide, one of the most affordable average interior/exterior premiums, offers an A+ AM Best rating and a lower complaint rate than expected for a company of its size. According to Nationwide’s website, since painters often face construction defects and height work evaluation, they need protection on the job. Nationwide offers:
- General liability insurance
- Workers’ compensation
- Auto liability and physical damage
- Umbrella
- Inland marine (equipment and tools)
- Surety bonds
Get a quote for your business with Nationwide.
Farmers
In its 90 years of putting customers first, beginning with insuring farm vehicles, Farmers does an exceptional job of insuring Americans. A small business insurance quote may offer you the right combination of personalized service and support. For commercial insurance, Farmers can help you research business insurance options by coverage and industry type and help you choose the commercial insurance coverage for your business.
Get a business insurance quote from Farmers.
Gallagher
Gallagher small business creates custom solutions for a small business’s unique needs. The company’s small business division offers a specialized team of over 600 insurance and consulting professionals who work with over 50,000 small business clients to deliver the right business insurance and employee benefits solutions for your situation.
Connect with a Gallagher representative.
Travelers
Branded one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for 165 years, business insurance with Travelers helps protect your business from the financial impact of unexpected events, from employee injuries to slip-and-fall events. Travelers can help manage risks and avoid claims.
Get a Travelers quote.
Choosing the Right Painter’s Insurance
Choosing the right painter’s insurance starts with filling out an application with details about your business, comparing quotes with insurance providers, and choosing the right policy for you. A licensed insurance agent can give you more information about painter’s insurance requirements and risks. You can typically get insured quickly after you apply.
Conclusion
You want what’s best for your clients and your business, so don’t skimp on insurance coverage. Furthermore, clients may be reluctant to hiring a painter without insurance. Ask for help understanding your policy if necessary regarding liability insurance for painters and in your personal situation.
Once you purchase a policy, you can download an insurance policy for proof of coverage. It likely won’t take long to get coverage. Consider all the risks applicable to your business and painter insurance cost, and choose the right insurance provider.
FAQs
What does it mean when a painting is insured?
In this context, painter insurance doesn’t refer to insuring a painting. This refers to art insurance, which protects you against loss or damage to artwork due to various factors, such as fire, theft, vandalism, water damage, etc. It is not the same as being employed as a painter and getting insurance for your business.
