Business-insurance · Cornerstone
National General business insurance: what small business owners should know
Last reviewed September 3, 20268 min readBy the Goodsurance editorial team Reviewed by the Goodsurance editorial team
National General began as a specialty personal lines carrier focused on nonstandard auto coverage, the segment that serves drivers who have difficulty qualifying for standard rates. Over time, the company expanded into commercial lines and was publicly traded before Allstate completed its acquisition. Today, National General's policies are underwritten by entities within the Allstate family, though the National General brand continues to appear on certificates and policy declarations across many states.
1What National General is and how it fits into Allstate
That structure matters to business owners for one practical reason: the financial strength behind a policy is ultimately the parent group's, not the brand name's alone. Allstate is rated by AM Best, Moody's, and S&P, and those ratings apply to the insurance subsidiaries that carry your risk. You can look up the specific underwriting entity on your policy declarations page and verify its current rating independently through NAIC's consumer portal at naic.org.
In short: National General is an Allstate subsidiary, so the financial backing for your policy runs through Allstate's rated insurance group rather than a standalone carrier.
2Business insurance products typically offered through National General
National General's commercial offerings reach small business owners most commonly through commercial auto and specialty lines, with general liability and business owners policies available in many markets. Availability varies by state, business class, and the specific independent agency quoting the coverage, so the product mix a business in Texas sees may differ meaningfully from what a business in Ohio receives.
Commercial auto is the category where National General has historically been most active. Businesses that use vehicles for deliveries, service calls, or transporting equipment need a commercial auto policy that is distinct from personal auto coverage. A personal auto policy generally excludes vehicles used for business purposes above a certain threshold, and a gap there can leave a claim entirely uncovered.
General liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from your business operations, products, or premises. Most landlords and many commercial clients require proof of general liability as a condition of doing business. National General offers this coverage in many states, often bundled into a business owners policy for eligible small businesses.
A business owners policy (BOP) combines general liability with commercial property coverage under a single policy, typically at a lower combined cost than purchasing each line separately. BOPs are generally available to small businesses with physical locations and relatively low risk profiles. Higher-risk trades, contractors with large fleets, or businesses with significant professional liability exposure often need standalone or specialty policies instead of a BOP.
Workers' compensation availability through National General varies by state. Workers' compensation is legally required in nearly every state for businesses that have employees. According to the National Academy of Social Insurance, employers paid an average of $0.98 per $100 of covered payroll in workers' compensation costs in 2023, across roughly 150 million covered jobs nationwide. Your specific rate will depend on your payroll, your industry's experience rating, and your state's regulatory structure.
In short: Commercial auto, general liability, and business owners policies are National General's primary commercial products, but exact availability depends on your state, your industry, and which agent you work with.
Average employer workers' comp cost in 2023, across about 150 million covered jobs nationwide.
3How National General distributes coverage
National General sells almost entirely through independent agents and brokers rather than a direct sales channel. That distribution model has real implications for the small business owner shopping for coverage.
An independent agent can place business with multiple carriers, which means they can compare a National General rate against competing quotes from other admitted carriers in your state. That comparison is in your interest. The agent's job is to find coverage that fits your risk profile and budget, and they are not obligated to place every policy with National General simply because it is one of the carriers they represent.
Because independent agents quote across carriers, the price you see for a National General policy will vary by agent. One agency's underwriting submission may generate a different quote than another's if the agents describe your operations differently or select different coverage limits. Getting quotes from at least two or three agents, not just two or three carriers, can surface meaningful price differences on the same underlying risk.
In short: Because National General sells through independent agents, working with multiple agents, not just multiple carriers, can uncover price and coverage differences that a single-agent approach would miss.
4What drives the cost of your policy
No verified universal premium benchmark exists for commercial insurance, and any figure you see on a comparison site is a modeled estimate rather than a quoted price. The factors that actually determine what your business pays include:
- Industry and operations. A landscaping company with trailers and power equipment will underwrite differently from a graphic design studio operating from a home office, even if both have identical revenue.
- Claims history. A business with prior losses, especially recent losses in the same coverage line, will face higher rates and in some cases restricted availability.
- Revenue and payroll. General liability premiums often scale with revenue. Workers' compensation premiums scale directly with payroll, which is why the NASI employer-cost figure is expressed per $100 of payroll rather than as a flat amount.
- Location. State regulatory environments, local litigation climates, and weather exposure all affect price.
- Coverage limits and deductibles. Higher limits cost more. Higher deductibles lower the premium but shift more risk to you in the event of a loss.
- Business size and structure. According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, 82.3% of the 36.2 million small businesses in the United States have no employees at all. A solo operator's insurance profile is structurally different from a firm with 20 employees, even in the same industry.
In short: Premium is driven by operations, history, revenue, location, and coverage choices; the same business can receive meaningfully different quotes from multiple carriers on the same day.
5Evaluating financial strength and regulatory standing
Before binding any commercial policy, verify three things about the carrier underwriting your risk.
First, look up the underwriting entity (the legal company name shown on your policy declarations page) in NAIC's Company Search tool. Every admitted carrier is licensed by state departments of insurance, and NAIC aggregates complaint data, financial filings, and license information in one place. A complaint index that is substantially above the market median for that line of business is a signal worth investigating before you commit.
Second, check the carrier's AM Best financial strength rating. AM Best is the rating agency most specific to the insurance industry. A rating of A (Excellent) or better is a common threshold that larger clients and landlords require when they ask for a certificate of insurance. Ratings can change, so verify the current rating rather than relying on one you saw a year ago.
Third, confirm that the carrier is admitted in your state. Non-admitted carriers (also called surplus lines carriers) serve a legitimate market for risks that admitted carriers will not write, but they do not carry the same state guaranty fund protections. If an admitted carrier becomes insolvent, your state guaranty association steps in up to state-specified limits. Non-admitted carriers do not offer that backstop.
In short: Before binding, confirm the carrier's NAIC complaint standing, AM Best rating, and admitted status in your state; those three checks are straightforward and can prevent a significant coverage gap later.
Three checks before you bind a policy
Non-admitted carriers do not carry state guaranty fund protection if they become insolvent.
6Cyber exposure and why it matters even for small businesses
The same agent network that handles your commercial auto and general liability can typically also quote cyber liability coverage, and the risk environment makes that conversation worth having. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, US victims reported $20.877 billion in internet-crime losses across 1,008,597 complaints in 2025, up 26% year over year. Business email compromise alone accounted for $3.05 billion of that figure from 24,768 complaints, averaging about $123,000 per incident.
Small businesses are not immune to those losses. A compromised vendor email, a ransomware attack on an unpatched system, or a phishing scheme targeting an employee's credentials can produce losses that a general liability or commercial property policy will not cover. Cyber liability coverage, whether added as an endorsement to a BOP or purchased as a standalone policy, is worth discussing with your agent regardless of which carrier you ultimately choose.
In short: Cyber risk is a concrete, growing exposure for businesses of every size; ask about cyber liability options while you are already reviewing your commercial coverage.
7Putting it together before you bind
A few practical steps apply regardless of whether you land on National General or a competing carrier.
Verify that the named insured on the policy matches your legal business entity exactly, whether that is an LLC, a corporation, or a sole proprietor doing business under a trade name. A mismatch can complicate or void a claim. Confirm that the policy's business description accurately reflects what you actually do; insurers can deny claims that fall outside the described operations. Ask for the declarations page before the first premium payment so you can confirm limits, deductibles, and exclusions in writing rather than discovering them after a loss.
Revisit coverage at least annually. Business risk changes: you add a vehicle, hire your first employee, move to a new location, or take on a contract that requires higher limits. According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, 49.2% of new small businesses survive five years, and 33.9% survive ten years. The businesses that reach those milestones are typically not operating on the same risk profile they had at formation.
In short: Getting coverage right is a matching exercise between your actual operations and the policy language; verify the named insured, the business description, and the declarations page before the first payment clears, and repeat the review every year.
Before you sign and pay
Does the named insured match your legal business entity exactly?
A mismatch can complicate or void a claim.
Does the policy's business description match what your business actually does?
Insurers can deny claims that fall outside the described operations.
Have you reviewed the declarations page before your first payment?
This is where limits, deductibles, and exclusions are spelled out in writing.
Do you have a plan to review your coverage at least once a year?
Your risk changes as you add vehicles, hire employees, or take on contracts that require higher limits.
Common questions about Business
Quick answers to common questions
Tap any question to expand. Each question links to a fuller standalone answer.
What is business interruption insurance?
Business interruption insurance helps replace the income your business loses when a covered event forces you to stop or slow down work.
Say a fire damages your store and you must close while it is repaired. Property coverage pays to fix the building. Business interruption coverage helps with the money you would have earned during that time, plus ongoing bills like rent and payroll. It usually applies only when the shutdown comes from a loss your policy already covers.
Does business interruption insurance cover a power outage?
It depends.
Many policies pay only when the shutdown follows direct physical damage to your own property from a covered cause. If a storm damages your building and you close, that often counts. If the power company loses service far from your site and nothing at your location is damaged, a basic policy may not pay. Some policies add coverage for utility service loss. Read your policy wording and ask your agent what triggers the coverage.
Who needs business interruption insurance?
Any business that would lose money if it had to close for a while may want to look at it.
That includes shops, restaurants, clinics, and small workshops with a fixed location and steady sales. A business that can keep working from a laptop anywhere may lose less. The key question is simple: if your doors closed for weeks, would rent, loans, and payroll still come due? If the answer is yes, this coverage fills that gap.
What is commercial auto insurance?
Commercial auto insurance covers vehicles a business owns and uses for work, like vans, pickups, and delivery cars.
It can pay for harm your driver causes to other people or their property. It can also help repair or replace your own vehicle after a crash, a theft, or a storm. The policy lists the vehicles and the drivers the business allows. Work driving often means longer hours and heavier loads, and the coverage is built for that use.
Does commercial auto insurance cover employees who drive for work?
Yes, in most cases, as long as the driver is someone the policy allows.
Business policies usually list covered drivers or describe a group, such as any worker with a valid license and your permission. If a listed driver crashes while working, the policy can respond. Drivers you left off on purpose, or people driving without permission, may not be covered at all. Tell your agent when you hire a driver or when one leaves.
What happens if an employee crashes a company van?
Report it to your insurer as soon as you can.
The insurer will look at the crash, the damage, and who was at fault. Liability coverage can pay for injuries and damage the driver caused to other people. If you carry coverage for your own vehicle, that part helps repair or replace the van. You still owe your deductible, which is the share you pay before the insurer pays. Reporting rules vary by state.
What is commercial insurance?
Commercial insurance is a general name for the policies that protect a business.
It is not one product. It is a set of coverages you can mix, such as protection for the property you own, for claims other people bring against you, for the vehicles your team drives, and for income you lose after a covered shutdown. Many small businesses start with a bundle and add pieces as they grow. What you need depends on what your business does.
Is commercial insurance required by law?
It depends.
Some coverages are required and some are not. States set their own rules, and those rules often turn on what your business does and whether you have workers. Landlords, lenders, and clients can also ask for proof of coverage before they sign with you. So even when the law is quiet, a contract may not be. Check the rules where you operate and read any lease or contract, since requirements vary by state.
Who needs commercial insurance?
Almost any business with property, workers, customers, or contracts has some risk to cover.
A home based shop, a food truck, a small office, and a builder face different problems, so their policies look different. Even a one person business can face a claim from a customer or lose tools it cannot afford to replace. A useful first step is to list what would hurt most if it went wrong, then match coverage to that list.
What does commercial property insurance cover?
It covers the physical things your business owns or rents, such as the building, tools, machines, furniture, computers, and the stock on your shelves.
It pays when a covered cause damages or destroys those items, like fire, storm, or theft. Some causes are left out, and flood and earth movement are common examples that need separate coverage. Signs, fences, and outdoor gear may need to be listed. Read the covered causes section closely.
Do I need commercial property insurance if I rent my space?
Yes, in most cases.
Your landlord insures the building itself, not the things you keep inside it. Your shelves, tools, computers, stock, and any work you paid for to fit out the space are yours to protect. Many leases also require you to carry coverage and to show proof. If a covered fire or storm damages your gear, your own policy is what replaces it. Ask your landlord what the lease requires before you pick limits.
What is workers compensation insurance?
Workers compensation pays for care and lost wages when an employee is hurt or gets sick because of the job.
It covers medical bills, part of the pay the worker misses while healing, and benefits for a family if a worker dies. In return, the employee usually gives up the right to sue you over that injury, which is why people call it the grand bargain. Each state sets its own rules, benefit levels, and claim process.
References
- 2025 Internet Crime Report, FBI Internet Crime Complaint CenterAnnual data on internet-crime losses and complaint counts by category, including the $3.05 billion business email compromise figure and $20.877 billion in total 2025 losses.
- Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, SBA Office of Advocacy (2026)Data on the composition of the 36.2 million US small businesses, including the 82.3% with no employees and firm survival rates across recent cohorts.
- Workers' Compensation Benefits, Costs, and Coverage: 2023 Data, National Academy of Social InsuranceNational employer cost per $100 of covered payroll and total workers' compensation benefit and coverage figures for 2023.
- NAIC Consumer Insurance SearchTool for verifying a carrier's complaint index, financial filings, and admitted status by state, maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.