7 Best E-commerce Insurance Companies for 2022

Small business owners should look for e-commerce insurance carriers that offer quality coverage at an affordable rate and can scale with their business. We compared more than 15 carriers on costs, policy options, online features, and more to come up with the seven best e-commerce insurance companies.

Top 7 E-commerce Insurance Companies

CoverWallet: Overall Best E-commerce Insurance Company

CoverWallet takes the top spot on our list of best e-commerce insurance companies because of its ability to gather quotes from multiple carriers. As a broker, CoverWallet partners with standout insurers, including CNA and Chubb, to bring quality coverage for small e-commerce companies that want to compare offers and buy policies quickly. CoverWallet adds to this value with a list of online features that simplify policy management such as coverage recommendations and policy notifications.

Visit CoverWallet

Cost

Refreshingly, CoverWallet is one of the few online providers that offers pricing on its website—and it’s easy to find. Costs vary depending on the type of e-commerce business and how much coverage is needed, but CoverWallet lists the starting premium for basic general liability coverage at $119 per month and cyber liability coverage at $139 per month for sole proprietors with projected income of $500,000. CoverWallet also offers coverage plans where both business owner’s policies (BOPs) and workers’ compensation are offered together with a starting premium of $49 per month.

By customizing a policy with additional coverage, prices naturally increase. For example, cyber liability insurance for e-commerce businesses runs about $500 annually, and business interruption insurance costs about $800 per year with CoverWallet.

Coverage Options

E-commerce businesses can purchase all the most common policies they need from CoverWallet, including general liability, business interruption, and cyber liability coverage. Several other policies, such as inland marine and professional liability, are also available.

Carriers

Some of CoverWallet’s partners include:

• Berkshire/Hathaway Guard
• Chubb
• CNA
• Liberty Mutual
• Markel
• Hiscox

Online Features

MyCoverWallet is an extensive insurance management tool that allows customers 24/7 access to several helpful services, including:

• Certificates of insurance assistance
• Policy expiration notifications
• Price alerts
• Peer risk and policy comparisons
• Coverage recommendations
• Claim support

If you already have business insurance policies from another carrier, CoverWallet allows you to use the digital wallet to manage them for only $99 per year. CoverWallet also offers a simple online advice tool that helps evaluate your e-commerce insurance needs.

Hiscox: Best for Microbusinesses

Hiscox excels in commercial insurance for sole proprietorships and microbusinesses, which is a good fit for home-based e-commerce businesses. The carrier also specializes in lower-risk companies, which helps to keep coverage costs more affordable. E-commerce businesses can tailor a BOP with Hiscox to include electronic data loss insurance.

Visit Hiscox

Costs

A general liability policy from Hiscox starts at $350 per year for many small business owners. Bundle it with property coverage and business interruption, and the minimum annual premium is $500. Additionally, Hiscox offers:

• Monthly payment plans with no extra fees
• A 14-day full money-back guarantee
• Rate reduction of up to 5% for multiple policies bought under Hiscox
• Separate rate reductions of up to 10% for home-based businesses

For additional savings, Hiscox offers lower business insurance rates if your e-commerce business practices good risk management to lower your chance of filing a claim.

Coverage Options

Hiscox specializes in liability insurance, especially for microbusinesses and home-based businesses, with the flexibility to tailor products to cover exposures in numerous industries. Available coverage includes:

• General liability
• Cyber liability
• Workers’ compensation
• Professional liability

Carriers

Hiscox partners with online insurance broker CyberPolicy to offer:

• Directors and officers (D&O) insurance
• Commercial auto insurance
• Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)
• Umbrella insurance

Online Features

Hiscox has an easy-to-use online application that returns quotes within minutes, which is a rarity among insurance carriers. Policyholders can also use its online portal to:

• Request loss runs and policy documents
• Update business information
• Obtain certificates of insurance
• Request waivers of subrogation
• File claims

Through the years, Hiscox has developed many insurance products especially for small businesses, and it has an appetite for several industries.

Nationwide: Best for Stored Data

Nationwide, a well-known national carrier, specializes in both property and casualty insurance and offers a wide array of commercial insurance products for e-commerce businesses. The highlight of these is its cyber policy, which combines three key coverages: data recovery, identity theft, and cyber protection.

Visit Nationwide

Costs

Nationwide doesn’t provide specific cost information for e-commerce insurance on its site. However, it does offer flexible payment options and lists factors that may impact your premium, including:

• Details about your products or services
• Annual sales and payroll
• Claims history

While these factors are a starting point for potential costs, applying for e-commerce insurance is the only way to get a quote.

Coverage

Nationwide offers all the most common types of e-commerce insurance for small business owners, including:

• General liability
• Commercial property
• BOP
• Professional liability
• Workers’ compensation
• Cyber liability

Nationwide’s cyber liability insurance covers both online data breaches, such as cybercrime or viruses, plus those resulting from lost or stolen devices and files.

Online Features

Online features offered by Nationwide include:

• Online application and quotes
• Local agent lookup
• Claim reporting for business auto and workers’ compensation
• Bill payment
• Risk management resources called eRiskHub

CyberPolicy: Best for Fast Cyber Insurance Quotes

Online insurance broker CyberPolicy is our pick for fast cyber insurance quotes. Cyber insurance is a complicated policy, but CyberPolicy has created a simple online application that returns quotes to compare in less than a minute. On top of that, the company offers basic e-commerce insurance policies plus tools to help business owners determine what they need.

Visit CyberPolicy

Costs

CyberPolicy is a brokerage, so it doesn’t sell its own insurance products. That said, it does list starting monthly premiums on its site:

• General liability: $20 per month
• Workers’ compensation: $20 per month
• BOP: $20 per month
• D&O: $10 per month
• Errors & omissions (E&O) insurance (also called professional liability insurance): $20 per month

Additionally, CyberPolicy is one of the few online brokers that doesn’t charge a broker’s fee.

Coverage Options

The list above includes just about every policy a small e-commerce business needs, but CyberPolicy also works with carriers that provide other valuable coverages, such as umbrella liability, commercial property, employment practices, and inland marine.

Carriers

To cover small businesses, CyberPolicy partners with carriers like:

• Acuity
• AmTrust
• Beazley
• biBERK
• Chubb
• Liberty Mutual
• Hiscox
• Nationwide
• The Hanover Group

Online Features

Its fast application is just one of the online features CyberPolicy offers. You can also use Insurance Guru to get policy recommendations and Cyber Checkup to identify where your business may be vulnerable to a cyberattack. In addition, CyberPolicy offers Learning Center, where business owners can learn more about cybersecurity and small business insurance.

Despite its name, CyberPolicy offers a wide range of business policies, so it can cover plenty of other industries.

Layr: Best for Manufacturing Operations

Layr is an online insurance brokerage that embraces technology to make it easier to buy commercial insurance. While it places a major focus on cyber liability protection, it’s the right company for e-commerce business owners with manufacturing operations because it offers product liability for A-rated carriers.

Visit Layr

Costs

Layr doesn’t list coverage cost information online, but it does explain its two revenue streams. First, Layr receives a commission from insurance carriers for every policy purchased on its platform. Additionally, businesses pay a percentage-based finance fee of up to 20% of their policy’s premium.

To acquire cost estimates through Layr, you’ll need to sign up on their online policy management portal first, and only then will you be able to get cost estimates depending on the risks and needs of your business.

According to its website, Layr charges the percentage-based fee to cover costs associated with maintaining the policies it sells, and this takes away any incentive an agent may have to upsell coverage. Layr also claims that its efficient platform saves carriers money, so carriers are willing to sell policies for less than they do for competing online brokers. As a result, Layr says its customers save up to 35% on insurance.

Coverage

Layr offers all of the most common policies e-commerce businesses need, but it partners with carriers that have some unique offerings. One of the most interesting is the standalone product liability policy. Most online retailers find sufficient product liability protection in their general liability insurance, but retailers who manufacture their products may want the broad coverage found in a standalone policy.

Drop shippers and retailers selling on third-party platforms like Amazon can also get quotes for chargeback insurance. This is a new coverage type and is offered by only a few A-rated carriers.

Carriers

Layr only works with carriers that are rated A or better, such as:

• Chubb
• AIG
• CNA
• Beazley
• The Hanover Group
• Travelers

Online Features

Like most online insurance brokers, Layr lets business owners get quotes online, pay bills, manage policies, and obtain certificates of insurance. It also provides industry-specific policy recommendations, although much of that’s difficult to find. In some ways, however, Layr goes beyond with its:

• Online application: Not only is Layr’s application easy to complete, but it has a sidebar that explains why questions are being asked and provides examples for tricky questions.
• Policy transfers: Business owners can make Layr the broker for all of their policies in 30 seconds online. Other online brokers charge for this service.
• Vendor integrations: Business owners who use Square or Stripe can apply for cyber liability insurance starting at $480 per year without submitting an application. Xero users can get recommendations and quotes for several e-commerce insurance policies without an application.
• Policy management system: Business owners have a portal where they can manage billing and payments, make changes at any time, and check on the status of their insurance policies.

Founded in 2016, Layr is a newer entry into the business insurance marketplace, so customer reviews are tough to come by.

The Hartford: Best for New E-commerce Services

The Hartford is a large, well-known insurer that can customize policies for many industries, including retail. In particular, retailers who want to add e-commerce services should look at The Hartford’s BOP called Spectrum. It covers brick-and-mortar operations while offering optional coverage for cloud services interruptions and business income if a third party that you depend on is unable to provide services due to a covered loss.

Visit The Hartford

Costs

Unfortunately, The Hartford doesn’t provide any cost information on its website. Like many other carriers, it does list the factors that go into calculating your premium, such as:

• Industry
• Owned property
• Type of assets
• Number of employees
• Claims history
• Payroll

Coverage

The Hartford’s BOP is probably the most important coverage for small retailers looking to add e-commerce. In addition to getting general liability and commercial property insurance, you can add:

• Cloud service interruption coverage: Helps replace lost business income if operations are suspended due to unannounced interruption in cloud service—requires only a 12-hour waiting period and will provide a $25,000 limit when this happens
• Business income for dependent properties: Covers lost income if a business you depend on, such as a manufacturer or supplier, is unable to provide services because of a covered loss

Another nice thing about working with a company that’s been writing insurance for a long time is that you can usually stay with it as your business grows. The Hartford is no different, offering coverage to retailers with sales up to $15 million and with payrolls up to $6 million as well as broad workers’ compensation coverage.

Online Features

Like other carriers, The Hartford lets you go online to:

• Set up automatic online bill pay
• Request certificates of insurance
• View policy documents and statements
• Report claims

With its deep pockets, The Hartford can provide quality coverage in lots of industries.

Embroker: Best for Providing Insurance for Startup Businesses

Embroker is a broker best known for providing tailored packages for startup businesses. When you add its coverages for high-growth startups, Embroker is the ideal choice for e-commerce startup businesses.

Visit Embroker

Costs

Embroker provided cost estimates for start-up businesses for the following insurance policies:

• Workers’ compensation insurance: $500 to $2,000
• General liability insurance: $500 to $2,000
• Commercial property insurance: $500 to $3,000
• E&O: $500 to $3,000
• Cyber liability insurance: $1,500 to $7,500
• D&O insurance: $3,500 to $10,000
• Foreign package: $2,500 to $7,500

Coverage

Embroker provides comprehensive insurance coverages for startup businesses, with the following unique features:

• Automatic coverage for all acquisitions
• 100% defense allocation to covered loss
• Wage & hour defense costs available for all states
• Penalties for violations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provisions

How We Evaluated E-commerce Insurance Companies

We used the following criteria to evaluate e-commerce insurance companies:

• Costs: Most insurance carriers don’t list prices online, so we compared quotes as well as minimum premiums and potential discounts whenever they were available.
• Coverage options: The best e-commerce insurance companies offer most of the policies a business owner might need. We also consider endorsements and coverage terms. For brokers, we also looked at what carriers they partnered with to get a sense of the options available.
• Additional services: Insurance providers often set themselves apart by offering additional services, such as policy management tools and risk evaluations.
• Financial stability: Financial stability is an essential factor when considering e-commerce insurers because it shows they can pay claims. Of the four major credit rating agencies, we focused on A.M. Best because it provides rates for the insurance industry.

Types of E-commerce Insurance Coverage

E-commerce insurance is a group of policies that small business owners need when they sell products online. Most of the policies are common to all business owners, but e-commerce often requires additional coverage. For example, most e-commerce businesses need:

• General liability insurance: Covers third-party lawsuits over bodily injury, property damage, and advertising injury. Policies usually include products-completed operations coverage, which is an essential protection for any retailer.
• Commercial property insurance: Covers the cost to repair or replace damaged business-owned property, including buildings, fixtures, and inventory.
• BOP: Bundles general liability and commercial property insurance with business interruption insurance to help pay for lost profits and ongoing expenses if a covered event causes you to pause operations.
• Cyber liability and data breach insurance: Protects businesses from losses or damages resulting from cyberattacks and data breaches—another key policy for online businesses.
• Intellectual property insurance: Covers legal costs if a company or competitor accuses you of intellectual property or copyright infringement.
• Workers’ compensation insurance: Pays for an employee’s medical bills and lost wages after a work-related injury.

Who Needs Insurance for Online Business?

Any small business owner who sells products or services online typically needs e-commerce insurance to minimize their risks. Whether you’re a one-person show or you own a larger company with a warehouse of inventory, insurance for an online business protects your assets by covering costs when things go wrong.

E-commerce insurance may be particularly important for sole proprietorships. The law makes no distinction between a sole proprietor’s business and personal assets, so an expensive lawsuit can drain the business owner’s personal savings account. Additionally, home-based business owners should look into e-commerce insurance because their home insurance most likely excludes business activities and property.

How Much Does Insurance for an Online Business Cost?

Insurers consider many factors to determine an e-commerce business’s premiums. These characteristics include the business’ industry, products sold, revenues, and claims history. Depending on the risks, needs, insurance policies chosen based on risks and needs, and type of business set up, costs for e-commerce business insurance can range from $500 to $10,000.

Bottom Line

E-commerce business owners are concerned with time and money, as are most small business owners. While these are essential factors when it comes to shopping for e-commerce insurance, you also want to work with a company that covers your specific risks and offers expertise in your industry.