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Contractor, trades, or job-site work
Start with liability, workers compensation if you have employees, and vehicle coverage if trucks, trailers, or employee vehicles are used for work.
Likely needed
General liability insurance
Helps with third-party bodily injury, property damage, completed operations, and certificate requests. Contractors often need it before a client or project owner will let work begin.
Review general liability insurance
Required when it applies
Workers compensation
South Carolina generally requires workers compensation when an employer has four or more employees. Some exceptions can apply, so confirm your situation before assuming you are exempt.
Review workers compensation
Likely needed when vehicles are used
Commercial auto or hired and non-owned auto
Work trucks, trailers, delivery runs, and employee errands can create gaps if everything is left to a personal auto policy.
Review commercial auto insurance
Worth reviewing
Commercial umbrella
A commercial umbrella can add liability limits above underlying business policies when contracts, job size, or claim exposure call for more protection.
Review commercial umbrella insurance
Office, consultant, or professional service
If you give advice, design, recommendations, bookkeeping, technology help, or other professional services, the checklist usually goes beyond general liability.
Likely needed
Professional liability
General liability does not usually answer every claim tied to advice, errors, missed deadlines, or professional services. Professional liability fills that conversation.
Review professional liability insurance
Likely needed
General liability
Even office-based businesses can have visitor injuries, property damage, lease requirements, and certificate requests.
Review general liability insurance
Worth reviewing
Cyber liability
If you store customer data, use cloud systems, accept card payments, or depend on email and client files, cyber coverage belongs on the checklist.
Review cyber liability insurance
Often a good fit
Business owners policy
A BOP can package general liability and business property coverage for many small offices and local service businesses.
Review business owners policy coverage
Storefront, restaurant, or customer-facing business
When customers visit your location, the main checklist usually starts with liability, property, business income, workers compensation, and auto if delivery or errands are part of operations.
Likely needed
Business owners policy
A BOP can combine general liability with business property and business income coverage for many small storefronts.
Review business owners policy coverage
Likely needed
General liability
Customer slips, property damage, lease requirements, and vendor certificate requests usually start here.
Review general liability insurance
Required when it applies
Workers compensation
If the business has employees, confirm whether South Carolina workers compensation requirements apply to your payroll and ownership setup.
Review workers compensation
Worth reviewing
Cyber liability
Point-of-sale systems, customer records, reservation tools, and online ordering can make cyber coverage relevant even for a small local business.
Review cyber liability insurance
Business vehicles or employees driving
A vehicle exposure can be easy to miss. The key question is who owns the vehicle, who drives it, and what it is used for.
Likely needed
Commercial auto
Vehicles titled to the business or used regularly for business errands, job sites, delivery, sales, or hauling should be reviewed for commercial auto coverage.
Review commercial auto insurance
Worth reviewing
Hired and non-owned auto
If employees use personal vehicles for company errands or client visits, this coverage can help protect the business from liability that a personal policy may not fully handle.
Read about employees driving their own cars
Required for registered vehicles
South Carolina auto liability rules
South Carolina registered vehicles must meet the state’s financial responsibility and liability insurance requirements. Commercial use can require a different policy setup.
Read commercial auto requirements
Landlord, rental property, RV, or personal asset question
Personal coverage still needs a checklist. Rentals, RVs, teen drivers, boats, and higher household assets can change what is worth reviewing.
Likely needed for rental property
Landlord insurance
A rental property is not usually handled the same way as an owner-occupied homeowners policy. Review the dwelling, liability, loss of rent, and tenant-related exposures.
Review landlord insurance
Worth reviewing
Personal umbrella
A personal umbrella can add liability limits above home, auto, renters, RV, boat, or landlord policies when household exposure is higher.
Review personal umbrella insurance
Likely needed for motorhomes or travel trailers
RV insurance
Motorhomes, travel trailers, full-time RV use, storage, towing, and campsite liability can change the right policy setup.
Review RV insurance
Likely needed for tenants
Renters insurance
Renters insurance can help cover personal property and personal liability. Some landlords also require it in the lease.
Review renters insurance
Add-on: employees or payroll
Add workers compensation to the conversation. The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission says coverage is generally required for employers with four or more employees, with exceptions that may apply.
Add-on: employees driving personal cars
Ask about hired and non-owned auto coverage. It is often the missing piece when employees use their own cars for errands, bank runs, deliveries, sales calls, or client visits.
Add-on: COIs, leases, or contract limits
If a client, landlord, vendor, or project owner asks for a certificate of insurance, waiver, additional insured wording, or higher limits, bring the contract before you bind coverage.
Add-on: customer data or card payments
Add cyber liability to the checklist if you store customer information, accept card payments, use cloud tools, depend on email, or would struggle if systems were locked or offline.
