Business consultant insurance

Business consultant insurance is a collection of separate coverages designed to protect consulting businesses from the financial risks tied to advice, client interactions, and day-to-day operations. Policies typically include professional liability, general liability, workers’ compensation, business personal property, and cyber liability coverage.

Consultants can choose individual policies or, where available, bundle several coverages together, depending on how they work with clients, whether they have employees, and the type of consulting they perform.

Business consultant insurance covers claims related to professional mistakes, third-party accidents, employee injuries, stolen or damaged equipment, and cyberattacks. Each type of coverage addresses a different risk consultants commonly face.

• Cyber liability: Costs tied to data breaches, phishing attacks, and client notification

• Professional liability: Legal costs and damages if a client claims your advice caused financial harm

• General liability: Third-party bodily injury or property damage, such as a client slipping in your office

• Workers’ compensation: Medical bills and some wage replacement if an employee is injured on the job

• Business personal property: Coverage for stolen or damaged business equipment, such as a laptop, typically included in a business owner’s policy (BOP)

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, helps cover legal fees and damages if a client claims your consulting advice caused them financial loss. This is a policy for consultants, since the core of their job is offering guidance and strategy.

For example, if a client follows your recommended plan and it underperforms, they might sue you for negligence. Professional liability coverage—available with limits between $100,000 and $3,000,000 through Simply Business, depending on the carrier—helps cover the resulting legal defense costs.

General liability insurance covers third-party claims of bodily injury or property damage that happen during the normal operations of your business. For consultants, this typically applies to accidents that occur when clients visit your office or when you visit a client’s location.

A common example: a client slips on a wet floor in your office and later sues over medical bills. General liability insurance can help cover those costs, even if you primarily work remotely and only occasionally meet clients in person.

Workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees who become sick or injured on the job. Almost all states require this coverage, though the exact rules vary by state based on your employee headcount. 

Even solo consultants without employees may want to consider it, since many personal health insurance policies exclude work-related injuries. Simply Business offers workers’ comp coverage starting at $39 per month. *

* Displayed price is based on the 10th percentile of Workers’ Compensation policies sold by Simply Business between January – July 2025, divided into a 12 month policy term.

Business personal property insurance helps repair or replace equipment, furniture, and other physical assets used to run your consulting business. “Business property” typically includes items like laptops, monitors, webcams, and office furniture.

For example, if your laptop and webcam are stolen from your office, this coverage can help fund a replacement so you can get back to serving clients without a lengthy disruption.

Cyber liability insurance helps cover costs associated with data breaches, cyberattacks, and fraud that expose sensitive client information. This coverage is especially important for IT or data-focused consultants, but any consultant storing client data digitally faces some level of cyber risk.

If a phishing attack exposes client data stored on your laptop, cyber liability insurance can help cover notification costs, credit monitoring for affected clients, and legal defense expenses tied to the incident.

The right combination of policies depends on how you work, whether you have employees, and the type of consulting services you provide. Most consultants start with professional liability and general liability, because these cover the most common risks: allegedly bad advice and client accidents.

From there, consider workers’ compensation if you have staff, business personal property if you rely on expensive equipment, and cyber liability if you handle sensitive client data. Simply Business can match you with tailored coverage options after you answer a few questions about your business, your revenue, and your state.

You can get a business consultant insurance quote from Simply Business in three steps: enter details about your business, review quotes from multiple top-rated carriers, and select the coverage that fits your needs. The entire process typically takes less than ten minutes.

To speed things up, have your state, business trade, and estimated annual revenue ready before you start.

The advertised starting prices reflect the tenth percentile of relevant policies sold by Simply Business over a recent six-month period, divided into a 12-month term. Your actual price may differ based on your state, insurance provider, and specific business details.

For reference, Simply Business offers quotes for professional liability starting at $26/month, general liability starting at $18/month, and workers’ compensation starting at $39/month.**

** Displayed price is based on the 10th percentile of professional liability, general liability, and workers’ compensation policies sold by Simply Business between January – July 2025, divided into a 12 month policy term.

Consultants face risk through the advice and recommendations they give, not physical goods, which is why professional liability coverage is one of the most important policies you can use to protect yourself. A client can suffer financial harm from a strategy that underperforms and pursue legal action over it, regardless of whether any product changed hands.

Beyond advice-related risk, consultants also face liability from client accidents in shared workspaces, employee injuries, stolen equipment, and cyber threats—all of which can result in high out-of-pocket costs without the right coverage.

Solo consultants may still benefit from workers’ comp because standard health insurance often excludes work-related injuries. Without this coverage, a consultant injured while working could face medical bills that neither health insurance nor personal savings will cover.

Requirements vary by state, but workers’ compensation insurance is legally required in almost all states, depending on your specific employee headcount. Some states and licensing boards may also require specific liability coverage depending on your consulting specialty.

Because rules differ by location, it’s worth checking with your state and local government to confirm what applies to your business.

Yes, Simply Business is a licensed insurance agent that compares quotes from multiple top-rated carriers on your behalf. Rather than applying separately to different insurers, you complete one application and receive multiple quotes to compare side by side.

Simply Business works with 18 top-rated carriers and covers over 400 business types, matching consultants with policies suited to their specific risks and budget.

Simply Business works with business consultants across the United States, though available carriers and coverage options can vary by state. You can check state-specific details during the quote process by entering your business location.

Yes, coverage through Simply Business can typically be adjusted as your consulting business evolves, whether you’re adding employees, increasing revenue, or expanding into new service areas. Reviewing your policy periodically helps ensure your coverage limits keep pace with your business’s changing risk profile.