- Workers compensation: required by state law, usually from the first employee, and penalties are severe
- General liability: not usually required by law but demanded by most commercial clients and landlords, and contracts commonly ask for $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate (As of Oct 2026)
- Professional liability, also called errors and omissions, if you advise or design
- Commercial auto, since a personal policy will not cover a vehicle used for work
- A business owners policy often bundles general liability and property more cheaply than buying separately
Workers compensation. Ohio is a monopolistic state, so you buy it from the state fund rather than a private insurer. Required from your first employee.
General liability. Not required by law, but no commercial client and no general contractor will let you on site without it, and they will ask for a certificate naming them as additional insured.
Commercial auto. A personal policy will not cover a vehicle used for work, and the claim is denied at exactly the wrong moment.
A business owners policy usually bundles the second and property cheaper than buying separately.
It knew Ohio buys workers comp from the state, which changes who you call.
Workers compensation by state
California and New York require it from the first employee. Florida requires it from 1 employee in construction and from 4 in other industries, and working without it brings a stop-work order and a penalty of twice the premium you should have paid. Texas lets private employers opt out as nonsubscribers, who lose their common-law defenses in injury suits. Ohio, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming generally use state systems instead of private insurers. As of Oct 2026.
Cal. Lab. Code sec. 3700; N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law sec. 10; Fla. Stat. secs. 440.02(17)(b) and 440.107(7); Tex. Lab. Code sec. 406.033
A certificate describes a policy. It does not change it, and the gap only shows when a claim is denied.
Clients frequently ask for a certificate of insurance naming them as additional insured. Knowing what that means before a client asks makes you look like the professional option.
Keep every occurrence-based general liability policy for jobs you have finished. The policy in force when the injury or damage happens may be the one that responds, years after the work.
An email changing a client's or supplier's bank details is a recurring loss. Confirm by phone on a number you already hold. Crime and cyber policies cover it only with a social engineering endorsement.
I run a [type of business] in [state] with [how many] employees. We [describe the work and whether you enter customer property]. Which insurance is legally required and which will my customers demand?
Every lesson ends with a question to hand to a Greymill specialist, who answers with what it knows about your business.