Best Small Business Insurance in Nebraska

Nebraska Insurance Requirements

The State of Nebraska currently requires any business with employees to carry workers' compensation insurance. Likewise, businesses must obtain commercial auto insurance for any vehicles used for business purposes.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Section 60-509 of the Nebraska state statute details some of the Nebraska auto insurance requirements, including the minimum required liability coverage:

Automobile liability policy; corporate surety bond; effective when; limits; notice of accident; duty of insurance company or surety company.
No such policy or bond shall be effective under section 60-508 unless issued by an insurance company or surety company authorized to do business in this state, except that if such motor vehicle was not registered in this state or was a motor vehicle which was registered elsewhere than in this state at the effective date of a policy or bond or the most recent renewal thereof, such policy or bond shall not be effective under section 60-508 unless the insurance company or surety company, if not authorized to do business in this state, shall execute an acknowledgment that the company shall be amenable to process issued by a court of this state in any action upon such policy or bond arising out of such accident. Every such policy or bond is subject, if the accident has resulted in bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death, to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to such limit for one person, to a limit of not less than fifty thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident and, if the accident has resulted in injury to or destruction of property, to a limit of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident. Upon receipt of a notice of such accident, the insurance company or surety company which issued such policy or bond shall furnish, for filing with the department, a written notice that such policy or bond was in effect at the time of such accident.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Most Nebraska businesses that have employees are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. There are some exceptions, which are explained in Section 48-106 of Nebraska state statute:

Employer; coverage of act; excepted occupations; election to provide compensation.

(1) The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act shall apply to the State of Nebraska, to every governmental agency created by the state, and, except as provided in this section, to every resident employer in this state and nonresident employer performing work in this state who employs one or more employees in the regular trade, business, profession, or vocation of such employer.

(2) The act shall not apply to:

(a) A railroad company engaged in interstate or foreign commerce;

(b) Service performed by a worker who is a household domestic servant in a private residence;

(c) Service performed by a worker when performed for an employer who is engaged in an agricultural operation and employs only related employees;

(d) Service performed by a worker when performed for an employer who is engaged in an agricultural operation and employs unrelated employees unless such service is performed for an employer who during any calendar year employs ten or more unrelated, full-time employees, whether in one or more locations, on each working day for thirteen calendar weeks, whether or not such weeks are consecutive. The act shall apply to an employer thirty days after the thirteenth such week; and

(e) Service performed by a person who is engaged in an agricultural operation, or performed by his or her related employees, when the service performed is (i) occasional and (ii) for another person who is engaged in an agricultural operation who has provided or will provide reciprocal or similar service.

Data Breach Insurance

Nebraska’s Financial Data Protection and Consumer Notification of Data Security Breach Act compels businesses operating in the state to notify residents if their personal information has been compromised.

The obligation to notify individuals whose personal information has been breached creates a contingent liability for any business that handles such information, since, on notification, the affected individual may commence legal action. Businesses would be well advised to carry data breach insurance to protect themselves against such eventualities. 

87-803: Breach of Security

(1) An individual or a commercial entity that conducts business in Nebraska and that owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information about a resident of Nebraska shall, when it becomes aware of a breach of the security of the system, conduct in good faith a reasonable and prompt investigation to determine the likelihood that personal information has been or will be used for an unauthorized purpose. If the investigation determines that the use of information about a Nebraska resident for an unauthorized purpose has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur, the individual or commercial entity shall give notice to the affected Nebraska resident.

Nebraska Insurance Resources

Nebraska Department of Insurance
Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court Employer Frequently Asked Questions
Nebraska Department of Insurance, Nebraska Workers' Compensation Insurance Plan

General Liability Insurance

The vast majority of Nebraska 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

Nebraska requires businesses with at least one employee 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 Nebraska 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.