Best Business Insurance for Self-Employed Workers in 2026

Affiliate disclosure: Dareable earns a commission when you purchase coverage through links on this page. This does not affect our recommendations.

Self-employed workers (freelancers, independent contractors, sole proprietors, gig workers) are personally liable for every mistake, every injury, every accident that happens while they work. There is no corporate structure between you and a lawsuit. Your personal assets are the backstop.

Most self-employed workers need at least two types of coverage: general liability for physical incidents (injury, property damage), and professional liability for service-related claims (errors, omissions, bad advice). Which one matters more depends on what you do.

Quick Summary

Provider	Best For	Monthly Cost (Sole Proprietor)
Next Insurance	Tradespeople, service workers, one-person shops	$25/mo
Hiscox	Consultants and professional service freelancers	$30/mo
Thimble	Gig workers and project-based freelancers	$17/mo
Embroker	High-income professionals (tech, finance, law)	Quote-based
biBerk	Budget-conscious self-employed in low-risk fields	$22/mo

Monthly estimates for a sole proprietor with $80,000 annual revenue and $1M/$2M GL limits. Costs vary by industry and state.

Why We Picked These Providers

Self-employed coverage spans a wide range of work types. Trades workers need GL. Consultants need professional liability. Gig workers need flexible short-term policies. We picked carriers that address the actual range of self-employed workers rather than trying to find one "best" provider for a category that does not have one.

Provider Reviews

Next Insurance

Next Insurance built its product specifically for small business owners and independent tradespeople. Their application handles the most common self-employed professions (landscapers, plumbers, painters, cleaners, handymen, photographers, personal trainers) and produces a quote in under five minutes.

Best for: Tradespeople, service business owners, and anyone doing physical work in client spaces. The sweet spot is a sole proprietor working in trades, home services, or personal services.

What it costs: $25 to $65 per month for most sole proprietors depending on industry and revenue. A self-employed landscaper or house cleaner will pay toward the lower end; a self-employed contractor doing remodeling work pays toward the higher end.

One thing to watch: Next Insurance's policy is not the ISO standard CGL form. For freelancers or contractors that need to satisfy a contractual requirement specifying the exact ISO form, confirm the policy meets that requirement before purchasing.

Affiliate link: Get a quote from Next Insurance

Hiscox

Hiscox is well-suited for self-employed consultants, freelancers in professional services, and independent contractors in knowledge-work industries. They write both GL and professional liability, often bundled at a competitive rate.

Best for: Self-employed consultants, marketers, accountants, IT contractors, trainers, and other professional service workers who face the risk of a client claiming their work caused a financial loss (professional liability) in addition to physical liability.

What it costs: $30 to $80 per month for a solo practitioner depending on profession and revenue. Bundling GL and professional liability with Hiscox often costs less than buying each separately from different carriers.

One thing to watch: Hiscox does not write all trades. If you do physical work in client spaces (cleaning, landscaping, contracting), Next Insurance or biBerk will typically have better pricing.

Thimble

Thimble is the right choice for self-employed workers who take on gig work or project work rather than continuous full-time engagements. Thimble issues coverage by the hour, day, or month, and you can get a certificate of insurance in under 60 seconds.

Best for: Gig workers taking on side projects. Freelancers between regular contracts. Anyone who needs a certificate quickly for a one-time job.

What it costs: Short-term coverage starts at $17 for a single-day policy. Monthly coverage runs $30 to $60 for most self-employed workers. Thimble also offers annual policies that price competitively for lower-revenue workers.

One thing to watch: If you are consistently self-employed with continuous work, an annual policy will almost always be cheaper than monthly Thimble policies. Thimble's value is in flexibility, not in base price.

Embroker

Embroker specializes in professional service businesses (tech consultants, software developers, marketing agencies, financial professionals, and similar high-earning freelancers). Their focus is on policies for workers whose mistakes carry significant financial risk: a software bug that costs a client $200,000, a financial recommendation that loses client money.

Best for: Independent tech consultants, software developers, financial advisors, and other high-income professionals where an errors and omissions claim could be six figures or more.

What it costs: Embroker provides quotes rather than published rates: pricing is more customized based on your revenue, contract sizes, and specific professional exposures. Expect $75 to $200 per month for a high-earning professional freelancer.

One thing to watch: Embroker is not the right fit for trades or lower-revenue self-employed workers. Their underwriting and pricing is calibrated for professional service businesses with meaningful revenue.

Affiliate link: Get a quote from Embroker

biBerk (Berkshire Hathaway)

biBerk offers GL and professional liability for self-employed workers in lower-hazard industries. They price competitively for the risk classes they write, backed by Berkshire Hathaway's financial strength.

Best for: Self-employed workers in retail, food service, office services, and other low-to-moderate hazard industries who want strong financial backing without the higher rates of some carriers.

What it costs: $22 to $50 per month for most self-employed workers in their appetite. biBerk is often 15 to 20 percent below The Hartford or Hiscox on equivalent GL for low-hazard classes.

One thing to watch: biBerk does not write high-hazard trades. Their application will decline roofing, structural work, and similar elevated-risk classifications.

How We Evaluated These Providers

Coverage for self-employed realities. Self-employed workers often work across multiple client sites, sometimes do project work outside their main trade, and rarely have HR departments to handle claims paperwork. We evaluated which carriers handle these realities without creating coverage gaps.

Financial strength. AM Best ratings: Next Insurance (A-), Hiscox (A), Thimble (A-), Embroker (A- via admitted carriers), biBerk/Berkshire Hathaway (A++).

COI issuance. Clients frequently require certificates of insurance before work starts. We evaluated how quickly each carrier issues COIs.

Professional liability availability. Self-employed service workers often need both GL and professional liability. We assessed which carriers offer both and how well they bundle.

Price benchmarks. We pulled quotes for a sole proprietor IT consultant ($90,000 revenue), a sole proprietor landscaper ($120,000 revenue), and a sole proprietor photographer ($60,000 revenue) in Texas.

What Coverage Do You Actually Need?

If you do physical work in client spaces (landscaping, cleaning, contracting, repairs): GL is your primary coverage. It pays for property damage you cause and bodily injury claims. Professional liability is less relevant unless you also provide advice alongside the physical work.

If you provide professional services (consulting, IT, design, accounting): Professional liability (E&O) matters more than GL for your biggest risks. You should still carry GL, but the professional liability claim is what is more likely to bankrupt you.

If you do both (a contractor who also bids and manages projects, or an IT consultant who also does on-site work): You need both GL and professional liability. Hiscox or Embroker can bundle these at reasonable cost.

If you work sporadically (gig work, seasonal freelancing): Start with Thimble's short-term coverage for active engagements, or purchase an annual policy and suspend it if Thimble does not offer annual.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does homeowner's insurance cover self-employed work?

No. Standard homeowner's policies exclude business activities. If a client comes to your home and is injured, or if you cause property damage while doing work for a client, your homeowner's policy will not cover it. Business liability requires a commercial policy.

Do I need insurance if I only have one client?

Yes. A single large client relationship creates concentrated liability exposure. If anything goes wrong with that one client, you have no other revenue to draw from while the claim is resolved, and no policy to cover the cost.

Can I share my insurance with a business partner who is also self-employed?

Not without proper setup. If you and a business partner are separate self-employed individuals (not a formal partnership or LLC), you each need your own policy. If you operate as a formal partnership or LLC, the business entity purchases the policy.

What is the difference between GL and professional liability for self-employed workers?

GL covers bodily injury and property damage: physical things that happen during your work. Professional liability (also called E&O) covers financial harm from the work itself: a consultant whose advice cost the client money, a designer whose deliverable was wrong, a developer whose code failed. Both can cover you, but they cover different scenarios.

How fast can I get coverage?

Same day with Next Insurance, Thimble, and biBerk. Most self-employed workers can complete an application and have a certificate in 15 minutes or less.

Sources

• Next Insurance: next.insurance
• Hiscox small business insurance: hiscox.com/small-business-insurance
• Thimble: thimble.com
• Embroker: embroker.com
• biBerk by Berkshire Hathaway: biberk.com
• AM Best ratings: ambest.com
• IRS self-employment tax guide: irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed