No matter what kind of small business you have, one of the best ways to protect your company is by purchasing small business insurance. Business insurance helps you plan for the unexpected and protects your company from the high costs of lawsuits. Some policies will also safeguard your company from natural disasters, theft, and cyber attacks.
When shopping for insurance, all business owners want one thing—the coverage they need at the best price. Insureon is an insurance marketplace that furthers this goal. Using Insureon, you can get online quotes for business insurance in a matter of minutes and compare quotes from top-rated insurance companies. We’ll cover what types of insurance you can purchase through Insureon, pros and cons of using this platform, customer reviews, and best alternatives.
Insureon is a good option for small business owners who want to shop for insurance online, but prefer to receive personalized guidance before committing to a policy. New business owners are often in this position. After completing Insureon’s online questionnaire (which takes about 15 minutes), you will have several quotes in front of you to compare different insurance providers and policies. Online quotes are available for general liability insurance, excess/umbrella liability, business owner’s policy, commercial auto, and workers compensation. You can also purchase other types of insurance by phone.
An Insureon rep will call you to review your quotes, make recommendations about what’s best for your business, and process your payment. Insureon offers a nice combination of a quick online experience, balanced by personalized guidance that you’d typically only expect from an agent or broker.
Keep in mind that since Insureon is an insurance marketplace, they don’t underwrite insurance on their own. For that reason, Insureon also doesn’t handle claims. You must directly file claims with the insurance provider you choose.
Photo credit: Insureon
As with any business, there are both positive and negative Insureon reviews from customers. If you’re considering using this company for your own insurance needs, it’s always a good idea to see what previous and current customers have to say.
On the positive end of the spectrum, Insureon customers praise the company for the number of options they offer and how quickly they can receive a quote. While you’ll typically need to speak to an Insureon rep over the phone during your purchase process, customer reviews also mention that written confirmation is always sent via email so you can easily keep track of your rates and other information.
Another positive Insureon review specifically calls out their “Policy Buddy” feature. “[This] is perfect for businesses that don’t know which policy works best for their business,” says Sherry Mae, CMO at Tankarium. “Policy Buddy works like an interactive quiz where users select answers based on their preferences, assumed needs, and budget to recommend the best policy available to the customer.”
Mae also mentions that Insureon is best for small and home-based businesses because of their economical options.
On the flip side, there are many Insureon complaints out there centered on a similar theme: customer service. Customers report many negative customer service experiences, including not being able to reach anyone, waiting weeks before receiving a response via email, receiving unhelpful information, and more. Since you need to work with an Insureon rep over the phone to complete your purchase, these complaints are particularly concerning.
Additionally, some customers also take issue with Insureon’s user experience, finding it hard to navigate. “When using Insureon, they are pretty skilled with providing the information you need; however, the interaction of the website leaves a lot to be desired,” says Andrew Roderick, CEO at Credit Repair Companies. “It comes across as unfriendly and a bit difficult to navigate. In fact, upon my first visit to the website… the background was grey and looked fairly similar to a broken weblink—I almost clicked back.”
Insureon offers multiple insurance products for purchase on their marketplace. However, you can only get an online quote for five types of insurance: general liability, excess/umbrella liability, business owner’s policy (BOP), commercial auto, and workers compensation. To purchase a policy or to receive quotes for other types of insurance, you’ll need to speak to an Insureon account rep.
Here’s more information on Insureon’s main small business insurance products:
If you’re considering the Insureon marketplace for your business insurance needs, take some time to learn the advantages and disadvantages of working with them. Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of Insureon:
The insurance industry can be somewhat of a black box when it comes to pricing. Insurance companies charge variable rates based on a company’s industry, size, location, and the specific risks that they’re insuring against.
Insurance marketplaces like Insureon are more forthcoming about price. Insureon even publishes insurance cost reports, where they detail average rates for different types of insurance and different industries. The data is aggregated based on what Insureon customers actually pay.
Based on Insureon’s cost reports, here are average yearly premiums paid by Insureon customers for different types of business insurance:
Other than transparency, the other value add of Insureon in terms of cost is the ability to compare quotes from multiple providers. In doing so, you can choose the most affordable policy that has the coverage you need.
Insureon is just one option for buying small business insurance. The insurance technology industry continues to grow faster than ever, and there are several insurance marketplaces similar to Insureon. The difference among them is how fast they can get you insurance, and how much human contact there is throughout the process. Here are the top alternatives to Insureon for buying business insurance:
Like Insureon, CoverWallet is an insurance marketplace where you can compare quotes and coverage options from multiple insurance companies. You have to provide information about your business’s location, product or service, revenue, and payroll, and they’ll show you policy terms and rates from multiple A-rated insurance companies.
Insureon offers more human touchpoints than CoverWallet throughout the process. You have to talk with an Insureon rep to complete your policy purchase, whereas 70% of CoverWallet customers buy a policy online without any human interaction. Insureon runs a big call center staffed by reps who talk to business owners all day long. If you’re a new business owner or want guidance while buying insurance, then you might prefer Insureon’s more personal process.
Buying insurance with CoverWallet is faster, though. CoverWallet sells approximately 30 types of insurance online. Insureon offers online quotes for only five types of policies, and even there, you have to complete your purchase by speaking with a rep.
At first glance, Next Insurance looks and feels a lot like Insureon. A small business owner visits Next’s website, provides some information about their business, and gets a quote. That’s where the similarities end, however.
Next is not an insurance marketplace. Unlike Insureon, which partners with insurers to provide small businesses with insurance, Next is the insurer. Next is an insurance company that owns the entire process, from application through to claims. Next drafts the insurance policies, underwrites customers, prices the policies, sells them directly to small businesses, services them, and handles claims—90% of Next Insurance policies are sold online without any human interaction.
Currently, Next sells three business insurance products—general liability, professional liability, and commercial auto insurance (a workers compensation product is coming soon). Plus, they don’t charge fees, a big win for small business owners. The downside is that these insurance products are not available in all states.
Chubb is actually one of Insureon’s insurance company partners. However, you can also go directly to Chubb to buy coverage. Chubb has been around since 1882, so they have hundreds of years of experience with business insurance and are equipped to handle any industry’s insurance needs.
Chubb is a large A++ rated (highest possible rating) insurance company that sells a variety of consumer and business insurance policies. They are the world’s biggest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. In spite of how big they are, Chubb has streamlined the process of applying for small business insurance.
They have a separate small business insurance website, where you can apply for a free quote for general liability, business owner’s policy, professional liability, and cyber insurance coverage. You can also purchase the policy online, something that Insureon doesn’t offer. And once you have a policy, you can manage it online from your Chubb account. That’s not commonly available with large insurance companies. If you prefer, you can also go through an agent or broker to buy Chubb insurance.
Insureon offers a different, easier way to buy small business insurance. Instead of having to fill out lots of paperwork and speak to multiple insurance companies, Insureon brings the information onto one marketplace platform.
All you have to do is fill out the online questionnaire about your business, and you’ll have multiple quotes in about 15 minutes. Insureon reps will help you choose the best option for your business, which provides a good balance between digital and personalized help that many small business owners will like.
Priyanka Prakash is a senior contributing writer at Fundera.
Priyanka specializes in small business finance, credit, law, and insurance, helping businesses owners navigate complicated concepts and decisions. Since earning her law degree from the University of Washington, Priyanka has spent half a decade writing on small business financial and legal concerns. Prior to joining Fundera, Priyanka was managing editor at a small business resource site and in-house counsel at a Y Combinator tech startup.