Bernauer Insurance Agency
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For Businesses

Commercial Insurance in Minnesota

Contractors, artisans, HOAs, and small businesses — general liability, property, and everything around them.

The gap between what you think you are covered for and what you actually are is widest here.

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Written by Spencer Bernauer, licensed Minnesota insurance agent (NPN 18100632) · Updated

The short answer

Business insurance is a set of policies, not one: general liability for what you might do to someone else, property for what you own, workers’ compensation for your people, and commercial auto for vehicles used for work. In Minnesota workers’ comp is not optional — every employer has to insure or be approved to self-insure — and a personal auto policy can deny a claim if the car was working at the time. We write for contractors, trades, HOAs and small businesses, set the payroll and receipts estimates honestly so the year-end audit does not surprise you, and issue certificates of insurance usually within a business day.

Workers’ compensation:
required of every Minnesota employer under Minn. Stat. 176.181 — Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry
If no insurer will write it:
the Minnesota assigned risk plan, arranged through an agent — Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry

How we can help

Tell us what the business actually does and we will tell you where the gaps are. Certificates go out fast — usually within a business day.

  • Read what you carry now and name what it does not cover.
  • Quote general liability, property, a Business Owners Policy and workers compensation across carriers.
  • Issue certificates of insurance — usually within a business day, and often much faster.
  • Review it before each renewal rather than after the renewal notice arrives.

Companies we quote for business insurance: Acuity, AmTrust, CNA, the Coterie program, Integrity Insurance (a Grange company), Nationwide, The Hanover, Travelers, UFG Insurance (United Fire Group) and West Bend, plus others for workers' comp, commercial auto, contractors, restaurants and bars, and cannabis businesses.

Every company we work with

You’ll work directly with Spencer. The person who quotes it is the person who answers when you call about it later.

Call Spencer · 952-956-2502Start the form

We’ll come back to you quickly, and it costs you nothing either way.

Step 1 of 2

Send us what you have

This part you can answer from memory. The next page asks for the things you need paperwork for — entity type, revenue, who insures you now — and both halves reach us together as one request when you send it.

Step 1 of 6

About Your BusinessOnly the fields marked * are required. Fill in whatever else you know.

Electrician, general contractor, HOA, landscaping, salon, restaurant — whatever fits.

Not counting owners — put 0 if it's just you.

Needed for workers comp. Skip if you have no employees.

$

The more specific the better — it decides which class codes and carriers apply. Mention if you work at heights, do any roofing, handle hazardous materials, or work on commercial vs. residential.

Your answers are not sent to our office until the last step. Privacy Policy.

More about Commercial Insurance

General liability is the floor, not the ceiling. If you own tools, they need inland marine coverage — a general liability policy will not replace a stolen trailer of equipment. If you have employees, workers compensation is required in Minnesota. If you sub work out, your certificates of insurance need to actually be current, because your carrier will audit that and charge you for uninsured subs as if they were your own payroll. We handle certificates for you, and fast.

  • General liability
  • Commercial property
  • Business Owners Policy (BOP)
  • Workers compensation
  • Commercial auto and hired/non-owned
  • Tools, equipment, and inland marine
  • HOA property and directors & officers
  • Professional liability (E&O) and cyber
  • Umbrella and excess liability
  • Certificates of insurance, usually within a business day

HOAs have a specific set of exposures most agents handle badly. You need property coverage matched to your governing documents — who insures what between the association and the unit owners is defined in your declarations, and a mismatch shows up only after a loss. You also need directors and officers coverage, because board members are volunteers being sued personally for decisions they made in good faith. We read the declarations before we quote.

For most small operations a Business Owners Policy bundles general liability and property at a better price than buying them separately. Where it gets interesting is the edges — professional liability if you give advice, cyber if you hold customer data, commercial auto if a personal vehicle is being used for work. That last one surprises people: a personal auto policy can deny a claim if you were working at the time.

Most commercial policies are audited at the end of the term against actual payroll or receipts. If your estimate was low, you get a bill you were not expecting. We would rather set the estimate honestly up front and have you plan for it than win your business with a number that falls apart in twelve months.

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