Best Small Business Insurance in Maine

Maine Insurance Requirements

The State of Maine currently requires almost all Maine businesses with at least one part- or full-time employee to carry workers' compensation insurance, and vehicles used for business purposes must be covered by commercial auto insurance.

Commercial Auto Insurance

The Maine Bureau of Insurance provides details about auto insurance requirements, including minimum coverage amounts:

Liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage to others as a result of a crash for which you are responsible. The minimum required limits are $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. A Combined Single Limit of $125,000 will also satisfy the minimum limit requirement. A serious injury or even lesser injuries involving more than one passenger can quickly exhaust these limits. In addition, many vehicles on the road today are worth more than $25,000. You should therefore think carefully about whether coverage at the minimum limits will adequately protect your assets if you cause a vehicle crash.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

While most Maine businesses with employees must carry workers’ compensation insurance, there are some exceptions. The state’s Department of Professional and Financial Regulation provides some detail about workers’ compensation exemptions:

• • Employers that have employees engaged in agriculture or aquaculture as seasonal or casual laborers, if the employer maintains at least $25,000 in employers’ liability insurance, with at least $5,000 in medical payments coverage.
  • Employers of six or fewer agricultural or aquacultural laborers, if the employer maintains employers’ liability insurance of at least $100,000 multiplied by the number of full time equivalent employees and has at least $5,000 in medical payments coverage.
  • Employers of domestic servants in a private home.

Data Breach Insurance

Maine instituted its data breach law in 2005, which compels businesses to report a data breach to residents whose personal information has been or may have been compromised by that data breach.

Security breach notice requirements

If any … person who maintains computerized data that includes personal information becomes aware of a breach of the security of the system, the person shall conduct in good faith a reasonable and prompt investigation to determine the likelihood that personal information has been or will be misused and shall give notice of a breach of the security of the system following discovery or notification of the security breach to a resident of this State if misuse of the personal information has occurred or if it is reasonably possible that misuse will occur.

Businesses operating in Maine should now recognise they face a contingent liability—he who knows may sue—and should consider signing up for data breach insurance. A successful class action lawsuit can cripple or destroy a business.

Maine Insurance Resources

Maine Bureau of Insurance
Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation Employer’s Guide to Workers’ Compensation
Maine Auto Insurance Requirements

General Liability Insurance

The vast majority of Maine companies purchase general liability insurance from an insurance company even though it is not legally required. This type of business liability insurance covers third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage, advertising liability, libel, slander, copyright issue, and other common claims faced by companies across various industries. 

General liability insurance is one of the most important types of business insurance your company can purchase.

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an affordable way to bundle business insurance coverages. This type of policy includes commercial general liability insurance with commercial business property insurance. Many small business owners with a physical business space opt for this coverage.

Commercial Auto Insurance

You need to carry commercial auto insurance if your company uses vehicles to transport people or goods. This type of insurance is very similar to personal auto insurance and covers liability, medical costs, collisions, and uninsured/underinsured motorists. A commercial auto policy also covers vehicles rented or owned by your company and employees who use their own vehicles for company business.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Maine requires most businesses with one or more part- or full-time employees to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Taking out workers' compensation insurance puts a limit on the amount and type of compensation that an injured employee may receive. The limits are set by law.

Employee Health/Life/Disability Insurance

Companies that provide health, life, and/or disability insurance as a fringe benefit will need appropriate Maine insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, firms with more than 50 full-time employees must offer health insurance or pay an expensive penalty.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance covers financial risks to attorneys, accountants, and other people who provide professional services or expertise. Professional liability coverage varies depending on the industry but usually includes negligence, legal defense, slander or libel, and copyright and trademark disputes. 

Professional liability insurance includes errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.

Data Breach Insurance

If your company hosts customers’ personal information on its servers and those servers are hacked, lawsuits and damages can result. Data breach insurance protects you in these cases. 

Cyber Liability Insurance

Similar to but more comprehensive than data breach insurance, cyber liability insurance may pay for legal expenses related to a data breach or set up a call center for individuals affected by a breach. It also may pay for active protection against cyberattacks.

Commercial Crime Insurance

Crimes like extortion, forgery, burglary, computer fraud, and embezzlement are covered by commercial crime insurance. Situations in which this type of insurance is particularly useful include dishonest or libelous acts by employees.

Fiduciary Liability Insurance

Fiduciaries, who are legally required to act in plan participants’ best interests rather than the company’s when choosing advisors and investments, should consider this type of insurance coverage. It covers them if they are sued for allegedly providing negligent investment advice or administering plans or benefits incorrectly. 

Third parties like out-of-company consultants and benefit plan administrators are usually not protected.

Directors and Officers Insurance

Any company with directors and officers should consider directors and officers (D&O) insurance coverage, a type of liability insurance that reimburses directors and officers for claims made against them regarding harm allegedly caused by their management decisions.

Executive Risk Coverage

Executive risk insurance is business liability insurance that provides coverage for fraud, D&O, employment practices, initial public offerings, pension funds, extortion, and professional negligence.