Find the Best Business Insurance Options in Oregon
There are nearly 403,000 small businesses in Oregon, representing 99.4% of the businesses in the state. Small businesses employ over 54% of the workforce in Oregon, making small business an important driver of the state’s economy.
Business owners of all sizes in Oregon face numerous risks, including property damage caused by crime, severe weather, fires, and natural disasters. And a liability claim or a lawsuit can lead to financial devastation that is difficult to overcome for any business.
A comprehensive business insurance program can help you repair and rebuild damaged property after a disaster. And it can help you stay in business and pay for your defense if you are faced with a lawsuit.
An independent insurance agent can help you compare business insurance quotes in Oregon.
Best Business Insurance Companies in Oregon
The best business insurance companies in Oregon are highly rated for their mix of valuable coverage offerings and competitive pricing.
- Liberty Mutual: Liberty Mutual is headquartered in Boston, MA, and has been offering business insurance since 1912. Today, the company offers a flexible multiline range of coverages designed to meet the needs of any business, regardless of size or industry.
- Progressive: Progressive is based in Ohio, but offers business insurance across all 50 states, including Oregon. Oregon business owners can look to Progressive for most of their business insurance needs.
- EMC Insurance Companies: EMC is in the top 60 business insurance companies in the United States. The company specializes in designing well-rounded insurance programs to protect the financial assets of many types of businesses and organizations.
- Nationwide: Nationwide provides business insurance and other popular types of insurance coverage in Oregon. The company is headquartered in Columbus, OH, and is represented by independent insurance agents in all 50 states, including Oregon.
- Travelers: Travelers offers highly rated business insurance in Oregon. The company provides a variety of business insurance options, including inland marine, workers' compensation, and general liability.
An independent insurance agent in your area can help you learn more about these and other Oregon business insurance companies. A local agent can help you get competitive quotes for the coverage that fits your Oregon business insurance needs.
Oregon Business Insurance Requirements
Business insurance is a package of insurance policies that cover your property and liability risks. Business insurance is not required in Oregon, but if your business owns any vehicles, you likely have to buy commercial vehicle insurance that complies with the state’s car insurance laws.
In addition, all employers in Oregon with one or more employees are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, unless the employee falls under an exemption. Workers’ compensation insurance pays for medical bills and lost wages for workers who are injured on the job.
An independent insurance agent in your area can help you learn more about Oregon’s business insurance requirements.
What Business Insurance Covers in Oregon
When you purchase business insurance in Oregon, you’ll be purchasing several individual policies or a package of policies designed for your industry. Business insurance in Oregon will typically include the following types of policies and coverage:
- Commercial general liability insurance (CGL): Protects your business from lawsuits related to bodily injury and property damage claims. It pays for medical expenses, legal fees, and financial settlements or judgments. Your CGL policy even covers personal injury claims such as libel and slander.
- Commercial property insurance: This covers damage to a building and its contents if damaged by a weather event, fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils.
- Business interruption coverage: Protects your earnings and pays certain expenses if your business cannot operate because of damage after a fire, hail, wind, equipment breakdown, or another covered event. If you are forced to close for a while to make repairs or rebuild your business, this coverage pays for rent, employee salaries, lost income, relocation fees, and more.
- Commercial auto insurance: Protects your business-owned cars and trucks from property damage and liability claims.
- Workers’ compensation insurance: Pays for medical expenses and a portion of an employee's lost wages after a work-related injury.
Your business insurance in Oregon may include additional coverage types or policies that cover your unique risks.
Liability Coverage Options for Small Businesses in Oregon
Most small businesses would have a hard time recovering if they were faced with a lawsuit. Liability insurance can cover you when you’re accused of causing harm to an individual or another business. There are numerous liability coverage options for small businesses in Oregon.
A commercial general liability (CGL) policy offers broad protection from lawsuits. It covers your legal costs, medical expenses, other damages for the injured party, and other expenses related to a liability claim against your business.
CGL policies do not protect you from every type of lawsuit. You likely need additional liability policies or endorsements that supplement your CGL policy and eliminate any gaps in your protection.
Talk to an independent insurance agent about why you might need environmental liability insurance, professional liability insurance, cyber liability insurance, or other types of liability coverage for your Oregon business.
Property Coverage Options for Small Businesses in Oregon
Commercial property losses can originate in a variety of ways and cause tremendous financial harm to your business. You need these basic business property coverage options to help you repair or rebuild your physical losses, and even to compensate you for lost income while you recover after a covered property loss.
Commercial property insurance protects you when your commercial property is damaged by someone else or by some type of unforeseen event like a fire or severe weather. You need business property insurance if you own your building or have tangible business assets (furniture, computers, fixtures, inventory, materials, tools, etc.). It helps you pay for repairs or to replace damaged or destroyed commercial property after a covered loss.
Business interruption insurance is a separate coverage that is typically included as part of a commercial property policy. It is designed to protect your earnings if your business is unable to operate because of damage after a fire, hail, wind, equipment breakdown, or some other covered event. This means that if you’re forced to close your doors for some time in order to make repairs or rebuild, this coverage pays for rent, employee salaries, lost income, relocation fees, and more.
A local independent insurance agent can help you get quotes for business property insurance in Oregon.
Other Insurance Options for Small Business Owners in Oregon
Most businesses in Oregon likely need more than just basic property and liability insurance. Other insurance options for small business owners in Oregon include:
- Business owners policy (BOP): A package policy that includes commercial liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance.
- Workers’ compensation insurance: Typically required for any business that has employees. It pays for lost income and medical expenses for employees who are injured on the job.
- Commercial vehicle insurance: Covers your vehicles and drivers in the event of an accident or other types of vehicle damage.
- Cyber liability insurance: Provides coverage in the event of a data breach involving your business.
- Employment practices liability insurance: Protects you if an employee sues you for discriminatory employment practices.
- Flood or hurricane insurance: Your basic commercial property policy does not cover flood or hurricane damage. Talk to your agent about flood and hurricane insurance if you live in an area that is prone to these events.
- Professional liability insurance: Protects you if a client claims you have been negligent in providing professional services.
- Commercial umbrella insurance: Provides excess liability coverage above and beyond the limits of your applicable underlying commercial liability policies.
This is not an exhaustive list of your business insurance options in Oregon. An independent insurance agent can make sure that all of your Oregon business insurance needs are met.
Average Cost of Business Insurance in Oregon
Every business is unique, and there are many variables that contribute to the cost of business insurance, making it difficult to compute the average cost of business insurance in Oregon. Several factors influence the cost of Oregon business insurance, including the following:
- The size and physical location of your business
- Your number of employees
- Your gross sales and payroll
- The nature of your business (What do you do?)
- The value of your physical assets (buildings, vehicles, machines, equipment, inventory, etc.)
- Your prior claims history
- The types and amounts of coverage that you need
An independent insurance agent can help you understand all of the risks you face and get quotes for affordable business insurance in Oregon.
How does your city measure up to the national average?
Number of businesses in the US: 30,819,176
Burglary rate per 1,000 residents in the US: 3.76
Auto theft rate per 1,000 vehicles in the US: 2.29
| City | No. of businesses | Burglaries / 1,000 people | Auto thefts / 1,000 cars |
| Albany | 3,057 | 2.33 | 1.76 |
| Beaverton | 8,503 | 1.85 | 2.02 |
| Bend | 11,690 | 1.34 | 1.05 |
| Corvallis | 3,910 | 3.16 | 1.19 |
| Eugene | 15,555 | 5.57 | 3.49 |
| Gresham | 6,729 | 3.68 | 9.42 |
| Hillsboro | 5,869 | 1.58 | 1.9 |
| Lake Oswego | 5,353 | 1.38 | 1.15 |
| Medford | 7,129 | 5.69 | 4.34 |
| Portland | 75,583 | 6.34 | 9.71 |
| Salem | 12,341 | 3.87 | 4.79 |
| Springfield | 3,644 | 2.66 | 2.66 |
How Does Your Oregon City Measure Up?
Property: Having a sufficient amount of business property insurance can shield your company from losses related to hazards like accidental fires, property crimes, and severe weather events like high wind and electrical storms.
Commercial auto: If your Eugene business owns a vehicle or fleet of vehicles, you will be required by state law to carry commercial auto insurance. This insurance can cover your company against its increased risks of expensive liability lawsuits if one of your drivers causes a collision. Rates for coverage can vary according to the number and types of vehicles you are covering and the accident rates in the areas where your employees will be driving.
Workers’ compensation: Covers medical expenses and paid time off for employees who are injured on the job. If your Eugene business has at least one employee, you are required by state law to have this insurance. Rates for coverage can vary significantly from one business to the next, depending on the types of jobs your employees do and your company’s overall payroll.
Property: As a business owner, you have invested a lot in your company’s assets, such as computers, furniture, inventory, and supplies. Commercial property insurance can help cover the cost of repairing or replacing this property if it is lost or damaged due to a covered event such as severe weather or crime.
Commercial auto: Many businesses in Gresham have company-owned vehicles. If your company owns vehicles, from company cars to delivery vans to large trucks, they must be covered by a commercial auto insurance policy that meets or exceeds the state’s minimum coverage requirements. If these vehicles are used for interstate commerce, they must also meet federal requirements.
Workers’ compensation: Covers medical bills and lost wages for workers who suffer occupational illnesses or are injured while doing their jobs. It is required for Oregon businesses that have at least one employee. Rates are assigned according to your company’s payroll and the types of jobs your workers do.
Property: You will want to make sure your policy adequately covers all of your business property so that if it is destroyed by a disaster like a fire or an explosion, your business can easily afford to replace it and get back to normal operations quickly. Sometimes this means adding additional coverage, such as inland marine insurance or boiler & machinery insurance.
Commercial auto: If your business owns a vehicle or a fleet of vehicles, you will be required by state law to cover them with commercial auto insurance. Your rates will be based on several factors, including the number and types of vehicles you are covering, information about the employees who will be driving them, and the risk of collisions and auto theft where they will be operated.
Workers’ compensation: This can cover medical bills and lost wages for workers who come down with occupational illnesses or are injured on the job. Rates are based on your company’s overall payroll and the potential risks faced by your employees according to their job classifications.
Property: The crime rate in Portland is one of the highest in the state. With a solid business insurance policy, you can shield your business from losses caused by embezzlement, shoplifting, and looting.
Commercial auto: Your business is required to have commercial auto insurance if it owns a vehicle or a fleet of vehicles. Rates are based on several factors, like the types of vehicles you are covering and information about the employees who will be driving them. Large trucks and construction vehicles cost more to insure than cars and cargo vans, since they can cause much more damage if involved in an accident.
Workers’ compensation: Covers the cost of medical treatment, lost wages, and other expenses related to injuries or illnesses employees suffer because of doing their jobs. It is required for all Oregon businesses that have at least one employee. Workers' compensation rates are assigned according to your company’s overall payroll and the types of jobs your employees do.
Property: In addition to losses caused by property crimes like theft and arson, severe weather events like electrical storms and high winds can lead to expensive losses if you do not have sufficient business insurance. Your commercial property insurance can cover the costs to repair or replace your business property if it is damaged or lost due to a covered event.
Commercial auto: Whether you are insuring a delivery van or a fleet of 18-wheelers, commercial auto insurance can cover costs associated with liability risks and damage to your company vehicles. This insurance is required for company-owned vehicles in this state. If your vehicles are driven over state lines, you will need to be sure that your policy meets federal, as well as state, minimum coverage requirements.
Workers’ compensation: Is required if your Salem business has at least one employee. This insurance can cover medical treatment, lost wages, and other costs associated with workplace injuries and occupational illnesses. Every workplace has unique risks and hazards for its workers, which is why workers' compensation rates can vary significantly from one business to the next.
Oregon Business Insurance FAQ
While you can't predict the exact costs of business insurance in Oregon, it’s important to understand what variables play a role in your insurance rates. Here are just a few of the factors that insurance companies use when calculating your business insurance costs in Oregon:
- Type of industry
- Number of employees
- Gross annual sales
- Location of business
- Number of company vehicles
- Past claims reported
- Number of years in operation
In Oregon, it’s essential for almost every business to carry a comprehensive business insurance package. Business insurance is not required by law in Oregon, but nearly every employer in the state must carry workers’ compensation insurance, with few exceptions.
In addition, if your business owns any vehicles, you’re required to comply with Oregon’s car insurance laws by purchasing appropriate commercial vehicle insurance.
Most businesses in Oregon need a combination of property and liability insurance, in addition to workers’ compensation insurance and commercial vehicle insurance as required by the state.
Depending on your unique business and the risks you face, you’ll likely need some additional coverage, such as professional liability insurance, commercial umbrella insurance, or cyber liability insurance.
Business general liability insurance is a primary building block of your Oregon business insurance program. It helps protect your operation from bodily injury and property damage lawsuits that come your way as a result of doing business.
Though not mandatory by Oregon state law, this policy is necessary to avoid the major financial repercussions of even a single negligence claim or lawsuit.
Health insurance and other employee benefits are important for many small businesses and their employees. A good employee benefits plan helps companies support a healthy and satisfied workforce. In addition, employers who offer employee health plans may also be eligible for significant tax benefits.
There are many business health insurance plans and options available in Oregon for you to choose from. An independent insurance agent can help you find business health insurance plans near you.
Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, EMC, and Travelers are some of the best business insurance companies in Oregon. They are highly rated for offering broad coverage, top-notch customer service, and a variety of affordable options for business owners.
Searching for the best and most affordable business insurance can be frustrating and confusing. That’s why it pays to have an experienced insurance professional in your corner.
Find an independent insurance agent in Oregon now, and get one-on-one consultation and affordable options for the best coverage for your unique needs. Your agent will work with you free of charge, offering you a variety of options so you can make the best choice.