Commercial insurance for Alabama small businesses

How we approach a commercial account

Commercial insurance is mostly about asking the right questions before the quote, not after the claim. We build a proper submission (ACORD applications, loss runs, property details, contract requirements) and send it to the carriers most likely to want your class of business. Then we compare not just price but forms: what's excluded, what limits apply per location, whether business income is included, and how the policy will be audited. You get a recommendation in plain language and a summary you can actually read.

We write accounts across the Birmingham metro, statewide, and in Tennessee and Georgia where the agency is also fully licensed, from single-owner service businesses to contractors with crews, convenience stores, restaurants and bars, warehouses, landlords and property investors, and professional offices. Commercial property is our specialty and has its own page; contractors do too.

Business owner's policy (BOP)

For most small businesses with a physical location, a BOP is the right starting point. It combines general liability with property coverage for your building, contents, equipment and inventory, and usually includes business income and extra expense so you can keep paying bills after a covered loss closes you down. BOPs are competitively priced through carriers like Liberty Mutual and Philadelphia Insurance for eligible classes.

General liability

General liability covers bodily injury and property damage to third parties, including premises liability (a customer slips in your store), products and completed operations (something you sold or built causes harm), and personal and advertising injury. Standard limits are $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Landlords, clients and licensing boards will ask for a certificate showing it, and often want to be named as additional insured.

Commercial property

Property is the agency's specialty, and larger or harder schedules are covered in depth on the commercial property page. In short: property coverage protects buildings you own, tenant improvements in space you lease, and your business personal property: equipment, inventory, furniture and fixtures. In central Alabama the details that drive price and claims are roof age and type, wind and hail deductibles, construction class, protection class (distance to a fire hydrant and station), and whether the building has updated electrical, plumbing and HVAC. We'll help you set replacement cost values that are realistic so you aren't penalized by a coinsurance clause after a loss.

Workers' compensation

Alabama requires workers' compensation for employers with five or more regular employees, counting officers. It pays medical expenses and lost wages for employees hurt on the job and includes employer's liability. Premium is driven by payroll and class code, and most policies are audited at the end of the term. We write WC through carriers including AmTrust and can place harder classes through the assigned risk plan or specialty markets when needed. Owners can generally elect to exclude themselves.

Commercial auto

Vehicles titled to the business, used to haul tools or product, or driven by employees need a commercial auto policy. Personal auto policies exclude most business use, and we regularly find work trucks sitting on a personal policy that would deny a claim. Hired and non-owned coverage extends protection to rented vehicles and employees' personal cars used for errands. Progressive Commercial and other carriers we represent write everything from a single pickup to small fleets.

Commercial umbrella

An umbrella sits above your general liability, commercial auto and employer's liability and adds $1 million to $5 million or more in limits. It's often the cheapest way to satisfy a contract that asks for higher limits than your primary policies carry, and it protects the business when a serious injury claim exceeds the underlying policy.

Surplus lines and hard-to-place risks

Some businesses don't fit the standard market: new ventures without a track record, vacant or partially vacant buildings, bars and venues, roofing and high-hazard contractors, operations with prior claims, coastal or waterfront exposures, and unusual occupancies. For those we place coverage in the excess and surplus lines (E&S) market through wholesale brokers and carriers such as Scottsdale, Nautilus and Covington Specialty. Surplus lines policies are written by non-admitted carriers and carry Alabama surplus lines tax and stamping fees, and the forms can differ from standard policies. We'll explain exactly what's different, and we treat a standard-market decline as the beginning of the placement, not the end.

Businesses we commonly insure

• Contractors and trades of every kind (see contractor insurance)
• Convenience stores, gas stations and retail, including liquor liability
• Restaurants, bars and taverns
• Warehouses, storage and light industrial
• Landlords, LLC-owned rentals and commercial property investors
• Cleaning, restoration and property service companies
• Professional and medical offices
• Entertainment and recreation businesses

What we'll ask for

A short call is usually the fastest way to start. We'll want your legal name and FEIN, a description of what the business does, revenue, payroll and headcount, property addresses and values, vehicles, years in operation, prior claims, and your current declarations pages if you're insured now. From there we build the submission and come back with options, typically within a few business days for standard accounts.

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