General Liability
Covers bodily injury, property damage and personal or advertising injury claims arising from your premises, operations and products — including the cost to defend you even when the claim has no merit.
Business Insurance
Commercial Insurance
Property, liability, vehicles, employees and bonds — sized for the business you have actually built.
Common starting pointBusiness Owner's Policy (BOP)
Common starting pointBusiness Owner's Policy (BOP)
Ohio workers compPurchased through the state BWC
Certificates of insuranceUsually issued same day
Overview
What commercial insurance does
No two businesses carry the same risk. A contractor worries about tools, a truck and the job site. A retailer worries about inventory, a slip and fall, and a data breach. A manufacturer worries about equipment breakdown and product liability. A commercial program from STF starts with a conversation about how you make money and what would stop it.
Most small businesses begin with a Business Owner’s Policy, which packages property and general liability together for less than buying them separately, then add what the operation actually needs — commercial auto, stop-gap employers liability, an umbrella, cyber coverage and bonds.
We also handle the paperwork that comes with running a business: certificates of insurance, additional insured endorsements, waivers of subrogation, loss runs for a bid, and premium audits at the end of the term. Most certificate requests go out the same day.
What's typically included
The parts of a commercial policy
Every carrier words things a little differently, but nearly all commercial insurance policies are built from these pieces. Knowing what each one does makes it much easier to tell a good quote from a cheap one.
Commercial Property
Covers your building, tenant improvements, equipment, inventory and business personal property against fire, wind, theft and other covered causes of loss.
Business Income & Extra Expense
Replaces lost profit and pays continuing expenses such as payroll and rent while you are shut down after a covered property loss. This is the coverage most often left off a policy and most often needed.
Commercial Auto
Covers owned, hired and non-owned vehicles — service vans, box trucks, dump trucks and employees running errands in their own cars.
Stop-Gap Employers Liability
Ohio is a monopolistic workers compensation state, so benefits come through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Stop-gap coverage on your commercial policy fills the employers liability piece the BWC does not provide.
Inland Marine — Tools & Equipment
Covers tools, mobile equipment, installation material and property in transit or at a job site, where a building-based property policy stops.
Worth asking about
Add-ons and endorsements
These are not on every policy by default. Some cost a few dollars a year, and they are frequently the difference between a claim that is covered and one that is not.
Commercial Umbrella
Adds a layer of limit above your general liability, commercial auto and employers liability — often required by larger contracts and landlords.
Cyber Liability & Data Breach
Covers notification costs, ransomware payments and recovery, fraudulent funds transfer, business interruption and the liability that follows a breach of customer data.
Professional Liability (E&O)
Responds when your advice, design, service or work product is alleged to have caused someone a financial loss — a claim general liability does not cover.
Employment Practices Liability
Covers wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation and harassment claims brought by employees or applicants.
Surety & Fidelity Bonds
License and permit bonds, performance and payment bonds for contracts, notary bonds, and employee dishonesty coverage for theft by staff.
Equipment Breakdown
Covers the mechanical and electrical failure of HVAC, refrigeration, production equipment and computer systems, including spoiled stock.
Liquor Liability
Required for most establishments that sell or serve alcohol, and specifically excluded from a standard general liability policy.
Builders Risk
Insures a structure, its materials and its equipment during construction or renovation until the project is complete.
Ways to save
Discounts we look for on every quote
Price should never be the only reason to pick a policy, but there is no reason to overpay for the coverage you want. These are the credits we check before we present anything to you.
See What You'd Pay- Packaging property and general liability into a BOP
- Documented safety programs, training records and driver screening
- Higher deductibles or a self-insured retention on larger accounts
- Alarm, sprinkler and fire suppression systems
- Accurate payroll and sales classifications so audits do not surprise you
- Association and multi-policy program credits
Common questions
Commercial Insurance FAQs
The descriptions on this page are general summaries of how these coverages usually work. They are not a contract and do not amend any policy. Availability, wording and limits vary by carrier — your issued policy governs what is covered.
Keep exploring
Coverage that often goes with this
Farm Insurance
Coverage built around how an operation actually runs — the house, the barns, the machinery, the livestock and the liability.
Learn more
Auto Insurance
Coverage for the cars, trucks and drivers in your household — from the state minimum to the protection we would put on our own vehicles.
Learn more
Life Insurance
A plan that keeps your family, your farm or your business financially steady if something happens to you.
Learn moreFree quote
See what the right coverage actually costs
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