Commercial insurance cost calculators by industry (2026)

For most US small businesses the full commercial-insurance stack runs $400 to $3,500 per year, with wide variation by industry. Solo low-risk professionals (consultants, online retailers) pay $400–$1,200. Small retail, beauty, restaurant operators pay $1,500–$4,500. Construction trades and trucking operations pay $3,500–$15,000+ per year. Pick your industry above for an exact range tied to the relevant NCCI class code, ISO line of business, and state-specific factors.

Six factors dominate: (1) NCCI class code (Workers Comp) and ISO line of business (GL / Property / BOP) — these set the loss-cost baseline. (2) Payroll + revenue — the exposure base most carriers rate against. (3) Claims history — three years claims-free typically earns 10–25% schedule credit. (4) State — California, New York, New Jersey carry the highest tort exposure; Texas, Florida, most Midwest states price lower. (5) Coverage selection — limits, endorsements, deductibles. (6) Carrier's loss-cost multiplier — applied on top of the filed bureau loss costs.

Both — scoped by line of business. Workers Comp pages cite real NCCI bureau filings (class codes, advisory loss costs, state adoption dates). Trucking + Commercial Auto pages cite state DOI SERFF filings (TAIPA in Texas, state-bureau-adopted rates elsewhere) and FMCSA compliance filings (MCS-90, 49 CFR 387). BOP / GL / Pro Liab / Cyber / Umbrella / EPLI pages use industry-typical market ranges — those lines have real ISO filings but the filings are state-DOI-private and not all are mined yet, so the page shows market ranges plus an ISO worked example where surfaced (the BOP page cites ISO BP-2025-RLA1 / SERFF ISOF-G134662502 as a worked example). Every numeric claim links to its source.

The ranges are accurate within roughly ±30% for the median business in each tier — they're industry-typical bureau-published numbers, not state-specific quotes. The biggest sources of variance from the published range are claims history (a single $50K+ claim in the past 3 years can shift premium 25–50% upward) and schedule credits/debits the underwriter applies based on documented loss control (sprinklers, monitored alarms, safety programs, MVR clean for drivers). For a binding number, use the quote flow — it pulls 10+ specialty carriers in 5 minutes.

Same coverage topics, two purposes. /cost calculators answer "what should I expect to pay?" with numbers, filed-rate citations, and per-coverage cost factors — they're the buyer's-decision surface. /learn guides answer "what coverage do I actually need, and how does it work?" with coverage definitions, claim scenarios, glossary cross-links, and editorial reviewer attribution — they're the buyer's-education surface. Most buyers walk through both: /learn to understand what's in the stack, /cost to size the budget, then /quote to bind.

The Rate Change Tracker publishes every filing we mine from NAIC SERFF Filing Access (the public regulator portal carriers use to file rates with state DOIs). Each cited filing includes its real SERFF tracking number, adoption state, effective date, and line of business — so any cost claim that cites a filing can be verified at the source. As of June 2026 we've mined 47 of 50 NCCI WC states for the 30-day rolling window; ISO commercial-line filings are being added to the queue progressively.