How much does insurance cost for building design companies?

Building design businesses pay an average of $36 per month, or $435 per year, for general liability insurance.

A general liability policy helps cover legal fees related to common third-party lawsuits from clients, including those related to customer bodily injury, damage to a client's property, and advertising injury.

This is the average general liability policy for building design companies that buy from Insureon:

Insurance premium: $36 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate
Deductible: $500

The cost of general liability insurance depends on several factors, such as the coverage limits you choose, the size of your business, the amount of foot traffic you have, and any endorsements you may add, such as an additional insured.

General liability insurance costs depend on your risk of a customer lawsuit.

Among building design businesses that purchase general liability insurance with Insureon, 38% pay less than $30 per month and 80% pay less than $60 per month.

Across all building design professions, learn how to find affordable general liability insurance.

Policy limits are the maximum amounts your insurance company will pay for covered claims.

The per-occurrence limit is the most your insurer will pay for a single incident, while the aggregate limit is the maximum your insurer will pay on any claims during your policy period, typically one year.

Most building design businesses (90%) choose general liability policies with a $1 million per-occurrence limit and a $2 million aggregate limit. As your small business grows, you may need to expand your policy limits.

Building design professionals pay an average of $54 per month, or $648 per year, for a business owner’s policy.

A business owner's policy, or BOP, bundles general liability coverage with commercial property insurance to cover both third-party risks and your business property. It typically costs less than purchasing each policy separately.

A BOP protects against customer injuries and property damage. It also covers damage to your physical building and design equipment and inventory. Because of its increased coverage and affordability, it’s the policy most often recommended by Insureon’s agents.

This is the average BOP for building design businesses that buy from Insureon:

Insurance premium: $54 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate
Deductible: $500

Small, low-risk building design companies are often eligible for a business owner's policy.

Building design business owners may see higher costs if they choose to add endorsements to their policy. Insurance endorsements, such as business interruption insurance or equipment breakdown coverage, are often recommended to help avoid financial losses if a fire or power outage forces your business operations to cease for an extended period of time.

The cost of a business owner's policy is based on a number of factors, including the value of your property, where you are located, the number of employees you have, and your specialty.

Among building design businesses that purchase a business owner’s policy with Insureon, 43% pay less than $50 per month and 77% pay less than $100 per month.

Businesses with large or more expensive business property will typically pay more for a BOP than building design businesses with smaller premises or lower value business property. Your industry risk, years in operation, and claims history will also affect your premium.

Building design businesses pay an average of $142 per month, or $1,700 annually, for professional liability insurance. This policy is sometimes referred to as errors and omissions insurance (E&O).

Professional liability insurance offers critical coverage for building design professionals, including paying for legal fees related to accusations of professional negligence. For example, if an architect makes a building design error, this policy would cover the costs of a resulting lawsuit.

This is the average professional liability insurance policy for building design businesses that buy from Insureon:

Premium: $142 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $1 million aggregate

The cost of professional liability insurance for building design professionals depends on several factors, such as your line of work, claims history and the policy limits you choose.

Among building design businesses that get professional liability coverage with Insureon, 33% pay less than $100 per month and 68% pay less than $200 per month.

Building design professionals who have been sued in the past or own a large company may pay more for this insurance coverage. Providers will also look at the type of professional services you offer when determining your premium.

Professional liability insurance costs vary significantly among building design professionals.

In professions where work mistakes can have serious financial repercussions for a client, such as a system integrator overlooking a control system, you can expect to pay more for this policy compared to lower risk professions, like interior designers.

Below you can find expected professional liability insurance costs across different building design professions:

Policy limits determine how much your insurer will pay on covered claims.

Most building design businesses (64%) choose professional liability policies with a $1 million per-occurrence limit and a $1 million aggregate limit.

As your small business grows, you may need to increase your policy limits for full coverage.

For building design companies, workers’ compensation insurance costs an average of $46 per month, or $556 per year.

This type of business insurance coverage helps pay for medical expenses when an employee is injured or gets ill on the job. It also provides disability benefits while they're recovering and unable to work.

To comply with your state’s requirements and avoid penalties, building design businesses typically must purchase this coverage for their employees. It's also recommended for sole proprietors, as health insurance plans can deny claims for medical bills when an injury or illness is related to your job.

Most policies include employer's liability insurance, which covers the cost of lawsuits related to employee injuries. There's usually no limit to how much a workers' comp policy can pay for employee benefits, though it depends on state laws.

The cost of workers' compensation insurance depends on several factors, including the number of employees you have and the level of risk involved with their jobs.

Get more information on how to find affordable workers' compensation coverage.

Building design business owners pay an average of $84 per month, or $1,002 annually, for cyber insurance. You might also see this policy called cyber liability insurance or cybersecurity insurance.

Cyber insurance helps building design businesses recover financially after a data breach or cyberattack. It can help pay for customer notification costs, fraud monitoring services, and other expenses necessitated by state data breach laws.

The cost of cyber insurance depends on the amount of personal information handled by your building design business, such as customer credit card numbers, along with the number of employees who can access that information.

Building design professionals pay an average of $135 per month, or $1,614 annually, for commercial auto insurance.

Most states require this coverage for vehicles owned by a building design business. For personal, rented, and leased vehicles used by your business, look to hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA) instead.

A commercial auto policy provides financial protection in the event of an accident involving your business vehicle. It can help pay for property damage, medical costs, and legal expenses.

The cost of commercial auto insurance depends on several factors, including the policy limits you choose, coverage options, the value of the vehicles, the driving records of anyone permitted to drive, and additional insured endorsements you select.

Learn more about how to find affordable commercial auto insurance coverage.