New York State Department of Financial Services wants $1M / $2M on the certificate.
The limits New York contracts and landlords name by default. Higher limits come from an umbrella, which is usually the cheapest million on the program. We set the coverage up and produce the certificate — usually the same day.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
What New York requires
Business insurance in New York is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services — license checks, complaints and carrier solvency all run through it.
dfs.ny.gov·checked 2026-08-25
New York requires workers compensation at one or more employees, counting part-time, temporary, casual and family workers. (NY Workers’ Compensation Law §§ 2 and 3).
wcb.ny.gov·checked 2026-08-16
Contracts, landlords and licensing bodies in every state converge on the same numbers: $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate general liability, and $1M combined single limit on commercial auto — state minimum auto limits are written for personal cars and satisfy almost no commercial contract.
boring.insure·checked 2026-08-25
New York is the hardest state in the country to place small-fleet trucking — most national programs exclude it outright, so NY transportation risks need specialist markets.
boring.insure·checked 2026-08-25
Limits
What to carry, and why that number.
- General liability$1M / $2M
- Commercial auto$1M CSL
- What certificates are checked against — state personal-auto minimums do not satisfy commercial contracts.
- Workers compensationStatutory
- Benefits are set by New York law — the policy pays what the state schedule says.
Coverage
Six lines. Each one closes a specific hole.
General liability
The $1M/$2M nearly every contract, lease and license names by default — third-party injury and property damage.
Without it — Most contracts cannot be signed and most commercial leases cannot start.
Workers compensation
Required at a state-set employee threshold that ranges from the first hire to the fifth — and in four states it can only be bought from the state itself.
Without it — State penalties per employee per day in most states, and personal exposure to injury suits.
Commercial auto
Vehicles owned by the business at the $1M combined single limit certificates are checked against.
Without it — A personal auto policy that excludes business use, which is discovered at claim time.
Professional liability
The work itself going wrong — advice, treatment, a design — which general liability excludes by design.
Without it — The most common claim in service businesses lands entirely on the business.
In New York
The organizations that will ask for your certificate.
- New York State Department of Financial Services · Where to verify any agent or carrier license, and where complaints go.
Questions
What does business insurance cost in New York?
It prices off payroll, revenue, and what the business does — not off the state line. A small office might carry a $500-a-year policy; a contractor with a crew, ten times that. The honest way to a number is a quote against your actual operations, which costs nothing and binds you to nothing.
Is Boring Insurance licensed in New York?
Yes — we are licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and you can verify that with the New York State Department of Financial Services. We are an independent agency: we place your coverage across many carriers rather than selling one company’s product.
Do you cover home health and home care agencies in New York?
Yes — home health is one of our deepest specialties, and the New York page covers the state’s licensing bodies, the limits referral sources demand, and the coverages a practitioner policy lacks.
What about trucking and commercial auto in New York?
We write trucking in New York — primary liability, cargo, physical damage and the filings — with a dedicated transportation desk and markets picked per state.
Where do I find New York workers comp specifics?
The New York workers comp page carries the threshold statute, who files the rates, and what happens when no carrier will quote — each claim with its source.
Do you handle liquor liability in New York?
Yes — bars, restaurants and venues, with the state’s dram shop rules on the New York liquor liability page.
Does business insurance change from state to state?
The policies look alike; the rules underneath do not. Each state has its own regulator, its own workers comp threshold and rating bureau, its own surplus-lines rules, and its own quirks — percentage windstorm deductibles in Florida, the FAIR Plan in California, monopolistic workers comp in Ohio, Washington, North Dakota and Wyoming. The state pages below carry those specifics with sources.
Are you licensed in my state?
Yes — Boring Insurance Agency is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Every state page names the regulator where you can verify that.
Do state minimum insurance requirements apply to my business?
Mostly no, and relying on them is the classic mistake. State minimum auto limits are written for personal cars; commercial contracts check certificates against $1M. Workers comp is the exception — its threshold is genuinely state law, and it is on each state page with the statute.
Read next
The coverage itself, explained.
New York decides what you must carry. These explain what you are buying, what it excludes, and what moves the price.
Tell us what you do. We’ll tell you what it costs.
Licensed in New York. Have your payroll figures and a list of services on hand — those are the two things that slow a quote down.
Start a quoteLast reviewed 2026-08-25