Business Insurance Los Angeles California
Los Angeles is full of opportunity. People come here to build careers in entertainment, and just as many come to found their own companies, drawn by a huge customer base and a deep pool of people to hire. That same scale brings risk: an accident on your premises, a fire or burst pipe, an injured employee, a claim from a client or a neighbor you have never met.
Business Insurance Los Angeles owners carry has to match that variety. A production company, a restaurant in Koreatown, a design studio in Culver City and a warehouse in the city’s industrial districts share a zip code and almost none of the same risks. This page covers the three core policies, corrects a few common misunderstandings about them, and then looks at how cover changes for the industries L.A. is built on.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers compensation insurance Los Angeles employers carry is the one business policy California law requires, from the first employee – including part-time staff. It is not optional for any business with a payroll. Who counts as an employee, and why calling someone an independent contractor does not settle the question, is covered on our page about who must carry it.
The original version of this page says it “will pay for all of their medical needs.” More precisely, it pays for medical treatment reasonably required to treat the work injury or illness, plus temporary disability payments that replace part of the employee’s lost wages while they recover – the part the original leaves out, and often the larger cost. Where an injury has lasting effects, it may also pay permanent disability benefits and help with returning to work.
It also generally protects the business from being sued by that employee over the injury. Premium is set by payroll and the classification of the work, which is why the same number of employees costs very different amounts in an office and on a film set or construction site.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance Los Angeles businesses carry covers claims from people outside the business for bodily injury, damage to their property, and personal and advertising injury such as libel or slander. The original describes it as keeping you from “losing too much in terms of finances” – it does more than that. It pays the claim up to your limit, and it pays your legal defense, even when the claim has no merit.
In Los Angeles, general liability is often the policy you need before you can open at all:
- Commercial leases almost always require it, with the landlord named as additional insured.
- Film and event permits generally require proof of liability insurance, with the city and property owners named as additional insureds.
- Client and venue contracts ask for a certificate of insurance before work starts.
What general liability does not cover: your own employees’ injuries, your own property, vehicles, and mistakes in professional work. That last boundary catches many L.A. service businesses – we explain it on our page about the professional services exclusion. Typical lease insurance requirements are set out on our Costa Mesa page.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance Los Angeles businesses carry protects equipment, inventory, furniture, computers and tenant improvements, plus the building itself if you own it. It covers fire, lightning, windstorm, theft, vandalism and burst pipes.
The original says property insurance pays if your building is destroyed by “natural disasters such as fires or floods.” Fire, yes. Flood, no. Flood is excluded from a standard commercial property policy and needs a separate flood policy. Earthquake is excluded too – a serious gap in a region with Los Angeles’s seismic history. We explain both exclusions on our page about earthquake and flood.
Two further points. A business that rents its space needs property insurance too, for everything inside that the landlord does not own. And business interruption cover, added to the property policy, replaces lost income and continuing expenses while you are closed after a covered loss – often the difference between reopening and not.
Insurance for the Industries L.A. Runs On
Film, television and content production
The original is right that many people come to Los Angeles for the entertainment industry. Production work needs cover that a standard business policy does not provide. Film production insurance Los Angeles producers typically buy combines several parts:
- Production package cover for owned and rented equipment – cameras, lighting, grip – which rental houses usually require.
- General liability for shoots, with permit and location owners named as additional insureds.
- Workers’ compensation for cast and crew on the payroll.
- Hired and non-owned auto for rented production vehicles and crew driving their own cars.
- Media liability, also called production errors and omissions, covering claims of copyright, trademark, defamation or privacy infringement. Distributors and streaming platforms generally require it before they will release a finished project.
Entertainment insurance Los Angeles freelancers need is often simpler: a creative working alone may need equipment cover and general liability to be hired onto a set, and professional or media liability if they deliver creative work to clients.
Restaurants, bars and hospitality
Kitchen fires, customer injuries and spoiled stock after a power failure are the core risks. Any business serving alcohol needs liquor liability, which general liability excludes. Hotels and larger hospitality operations need more again – see our hotel insurance page.
Professional and creative services
Consultants, agencies, designers, accountants and tech firms face claims for financial loss from their work. Their core policy is professional liability, often alongside cyber liability for client data and a small general liability policy for contracts and client visits.
Retail, warehousing and trades
Stock values, premises liability and workers’ compensation classification drive these programs. Contractors need workers’ comp for any employees and must file proof with the licensing board, and any business with vehicles needs commercial auto, because general liability excludes them.
Why Work With an Independent Broker
One correction on the original: it refers to “our legal experts.” We are not lawyers. Rais Insurance is an independent insurance broker, placing business insurance since 1982. The carrier issues the policy and pays the claim; our job is to place your business with the right one of the carriers we work with, comparing several rather than offering one company’s products, and to stay with you when a claim comes in.
That matters in Los Angeles because carriers have very different appetites for production companies, restaurants, contractors and professional firms. We arrange business insurance Los Angeles CA companies need, small business insurance Los Angeles owners can build on as they grow, and commercial insurance Los Angeles for larger operations, with options according to your budget and circumstances. Browse the wider business cover we arrange – we place business insurance Los Angeles County wide, as well as across Orange County.
Our office is in Anaheim, and we work with Los Angeles businesses by phone and email.
Business Insurance Los Angeles – Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is business insurance required in Los Angeles?
Workers’ compensation is required by California law from the first employee. General liability is not legally required, but leases, permits and client contracts usually require it.
Q2. What does workers’ compensation pay for?
Medical treatment reasonably required for a work injury or illness, temporary disability payments replacing part of lost wages, and in some cases permanent disability benefits and return-to-work help.
Q3. Does commercial property insurance cover floods?
No. Flood is excluded from standard commercial property and needs a separate flood policy. Earthquake is excluded too. Fire, theft, vandalism and burst pipes are covered.
Q4. Do I need insurance to film in Los Angeles?
Generally yes. Filming permits usually require proof of general liability insurance, with the city and property owners named as additional insureds. Equipment rental houses require equipment cover as well.
Q5. What is production errors and omissions insurance?
Media liability cover for claims of copyright, trademark, defamation or privacy infringement arising from a production. Distributors and streaming platforms generally require it before release.
Q6. Does general liability cover alcohol-related claims?
No. General liability excludes liquor liability for businesses that serve alcohol. Restaurants and bars need a separate liquor liability policy.
Q7. Do I need property insurance if I rent my business space?
Usually yes. The landlord insures the building, but your equipment, inventory and tenant improvements are yours to insure.
Q8. What insurance does a consultant or agency need?
Mainly professional liability for financial loss from their work, often with cyber liability and a small general liability policy for contracts and client visits.
Q9. Is Rais Insurance a law firm?
No. Rais Insurance is an independent insurance broker. We compare carriers and place cover; we do not give legal advice.
Q10. How do I get a business insurance quote in Los Angeles?
Call Rais Insurance on 714-761-4336 or email rai@raisinsurance.com. Tell us what your business does, your payroll and revenue, and any lease, permit or contract requirements.
Get a Business Insurance Quote in Los Angeles
Whatever comes your way, we will help you find the right business insurance to cover it. Get in touch on 714-761-4336, email rai@raisinsurance.com, or visit us at 2612 W. Lincoln Avenue, Suite 103, Anaheim, CA 92801.
If a permit office, landlord, rental house or distributor has sent you an insurance requirement, forward it with your enquiry. It tells us exactly what limits and endorsements you need, and gets you a certificate that satisfies them the first time.
