Wisconsin Business Insurance | Small Business Wisconsin (WI)

Choose The Hartford for All Your Wisconsin Business Insurance Needs

The Badger State is home to 448,032 small businesses, making up 99.4% of businesses in the state. Those small businesses employ 1.2 million employees. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines small businesses as those with fewer than 500 employees. In the “Dairy State,” firms with fewer than 100 employees have the largest share of small business employment.¹ Wisconsin businesses have been protecting themselves with small business insurance from The Hartford for hundreds of years. It’s no wonder more than 1 million small business owners trust The Hartford for their business insurance needs. Learn more about Wisconsin small business insurance, commercial property insurance in Wisconsin and Wisconsin business insurance.

Types of Wisconsin Business Insurance

Wisconsin Business Owner’s Policy

A Wisconsin business owner’s policy, also known as a BOP, is a single policy that combines business property insurance and business liability insurance. Coverage from a BOP can help cover your Wisconsin business from claims resulting from things like robbery, fire or other covered disasters. For example, say there is a fire in the kitchen of your business that spreads and damages your whole office. Your business owner’s policy can help cover the costs to deal with accident. BOP insurance coverage can also help protect your WI business from claims against your business for bodily injury, personal injury, advertising injury, and property damage that could arise from the daily operations of your business.

You should consider a business owner’s policy for your Wisconsin business if:

Your business has a store or workplace that is either in your home, rented or owned office space, or other business premises.

There is potential for someone to sue your WI business. For example, what if a customer was severely hurt in your store or office and sues?
Your business has either physical and/or digital property that can be stolen or damaged, including office furniture, business inventory, hardware, software, and customer and employee information.

Wisconsin Data Breach Insurance

Data breach insurance and cyber liability insurance for Wisconsin businesses from The Hartford help cover the costs of a data security breach. This includes public relations, identity protection solutions, legal fees, liability, and more for your Wisconsin business and depending on the coverage you choose for your company. For example, say an employee steals your customers’ personal information from your company’s database. As a result, customers file claims against your business.

Your data breach insurance and cyber liability coverage can help cover costs associated with such claims. It’s important to have data breach coverage in place because fast action is necessary to mitigate further damage and to help restore the public’s confidence in your company if you are hit with a cyber attack.

To reduce the risk of penalties and civil litigation when a data loss is a risk, choose a cyber liability, or data breach insurance provider that offers access to data security professionals who can help you create solid data breach mitigation plan and help you comply with the applicable laws and regulations in the state of Wisconsin if a breach occurs.

A Hartford representative can help you find the data breach or cyber liability coverage that is right for your WI business. Consider data breach insurance if:

Your business requires employees to save data on a network. This is not uncommon, but if your company stores data it could be at risk if a hacker get access to your database through your network.
Your business keeps customer data, employee data, and/or patient data on file. This includes credit cards, bank account information, Social Security numbers, and more, which can be a target for a cyber attack.

With data breach insurance and cyber liability insurance from The Hartford businesses get access to services that help Wisconsin businesses prepare for and prevent data breaches by helping make sure that proper security measures and protocols are in place before an incident happens. The Hartford can help with:

Network security
Employee training
Developing appropriate privacy, network policies and procedures
Finding and managing company assets
Planning for responding to an incident

Representatives from The Hartford can also help your business in Wisconsin develop a holistic and multi-faceted approach to data breach protection.

Wisconsin Business Income Insurance

Wisconsin business income insurance coverage helps replace income lost when your Wisconsin business is unable to operate due to a covered property loss such as damage from wind, theft, or a fire. If your company cannot operate and generate revenue due to a covered accident or disaster, such as a fire in the office, business income insurance coverage can help cover your costs until your WI business is up and running again. With this coverage, you can continue to pay expenses, including payroll, and recurring bills, while your business property is being replaced or repaired.

Business income coverage is included in a business owner’s policy from The Hartford. You can easily increase your coverage to address specific risks to your business by adding to your BOP from a broad range of optional coverages and endorsements. Consider business income insurance coverage if:

Your business is a service-based business that relies on a physical location and tools to serve customers. Examples include an auto body shop or a hair salon.
Your business depends on both physical property, such as an office building, computers, and servers, as well as digital property like cloud storage.
Your business is a retail store that requires online and/or brick and mortar storefronts to display your products and inventory so that customers can make purchases.

Wisconsin Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employment practices liability insurance from The Hartford is designed to help your Wisconsin business prevail in the event you face an employment-related claim for:

Harassment
Retaliation
Wrongful termination
Wrongful discipline
Wrongful failure to promote
Discrimination
Violation of FMLA

The costs associated with an employment practice related claim can be devastating to a business. Employers in Wisconsin may face a variety of claims and lawsuits around wrongful termination, violation of the FMLA, and more. For example, after terminating an employee for misconduct, she notices that company policy requires a warning. The terminated employee says that she never received a warning and files a claim against you. Your employment practices liability insurance can help cover the costs associated.

It’s also important to note that a business owner does not have to be in the wrong to be sued. The right insurance to cover defense costs and damages related to employment related claims can be crucial to protecting your WI business. The Hartford provides comprehensive and customizable employment practices liability insurance. This insurance is designed to protect you and your business in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Minimum Business Insurance Requirements

Wisconsin law requires almost all employers to carry some form of workers’ compensation insurance coverage for their employees. You must purchase this coverage through an agent or company licensed to sell worker’s compensation insurance in Wisconsin. Wisconsin law also requires all business owners to purchase certain types of liability insurance. These business owners may also purchase optional types of insurance. Learn more from the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.

Additional Wisconsin Business Insurance Links

Get a quote on Small Business Insurance for your business today.

City Business Insurance

Milwaukee Business Insurance

Last Updated: March 20, 2023

¹ https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/2018-Small-Business-Profiles-AL.pdf

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Wisconsin (WI) Business Insurance