Best Small Business Insurance in Missouri

Missouri Insurance Requirements

The State of Missouri currently requires businesses with five or more part- or full-time employees to carry workers' compensation insurance. Additionally, all vehicles used for business purposes must be covered by commercial auto insurance.

Commercial Auto Insurance

The Missouri Department of Revenue provides the state’s auto insurance requirements on its website:

Missouri motor vehicle owners are required to show proof of insurance when registering a vehicle and renewing their license plates. Liability insurance covers your legal liability when injuries or property damage happen as a result of your actions. The minimum level of coverage required by state law is:

• • $25,000 per person for bodily injury
  • $50,000 per accident for bodily injury
  • $25,000 per accident for property

The law also requires you to have uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000 for bodily injury per person and $50,000 for bodily injury per accident.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Missouri businesses with five or more employees — both part-time and full-time — must have workers’ compensation insurance. The Missouri Department of Labor gives more detail, including some exceptions:

Liability Requirements & Exemptions

Missouri Employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have five or more employees.  Missouri Employers involved in the construction industry are required to carry the coverage if they have one or more employees.  This applies to all employers, regardless of whether the employees are part-time/casual laborers, full-time, or family members.

Members of an LLC and officers of a corporation apply towards this employee count, sole proprietors and members of a partnership do not. 

Sole proprietors and members of a partnership are not themselves covered unless they elect, with their insurer, to be covered; close family member-employees and members of a limited liability company are presumed to be covered unless they opt out with their insurer.

Note:  “Construction” is defined as: Employers who erect, demolish, alter or repair improvements

Exceptions

Employers that don’t have the required number of employees or who have employees in the exempt categories may “elect” to come under the law and carry workers’ compensation insurance. Exempt employers that decide not to purchase workers compensation insurance or to self-insure remain exposed to civil lawsuits brought by employees who are injured during work.  Therefore, employers exempt from coverage remain at risk and may wish to obtain workers’ compensation insurance, even if not required.

Railroad, postal, and maritime workers are covered under federal laws and not by Missouri Workers’ Compensation Laws. Other exceptions include: farm labor, domestic servants in a private home, occasional labor performed for or related to a private household, qualified real estate agents, direct sellers, volunteers of a tax exempt organization which operates under the standards of section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) of the federal Internal Revenue Code where such volunteers are not paid wages and adjudicators, sports officials or contest workers for interscholastic activity programs or amateur youth programs who are not employed by the sponsor of the event.

Data Breach Insurance

Missouri’s data breach notification law became effective on the unlikely date of August 28, 2009. It places an obligation on businesses operating in the state to notify consumers if data in its possession has been compromised. The relevant provisions appear in Missouri Revised Statutes:

Notice to consumer for breach of security

“Any person that owns or licenses personal information of residents of Missouri or any person that conducts business in Missouri that owns or licenses personal information in any form of a resident of Missouri shall provide notice to the affected consumer that there has been a breach of security following discovery or notification of the breach.
(MO Rev Stat § 407.1500.(2)(1))

While this provision offers a measure of protection to consumers from data breaches, for businesses it raises the unwelcome prospect of lawsuits from disaffected customers who have suffered a loss or fear they might. Consequently, it seems advisable that businesses handling customer data should consider carrying data breach insurance. 

Missouri Insurance Resources

Missouri Department of Insurance, Small Business Insurance Topics
Missouri Department of Labor, Employers’ Insurance Information
Missouri Department of Revenue Auto Insurance Information

General Liability Insurance

The vast majority of Missouri 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

Missouri requires businesses with five or more 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 Missouri 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.