Franklin & Williamson County businesses
Business insurance from an agency in Franklin
A business owner's policy, general liability, commercial auto, workers' compensation: most small businesses in Franklin and Cool Springs need two or three of these, set up so they fit together. We place them across multiple carriers from an office in Franklin.
Contractors, professional offices, shops, property owners and the companies investors run their rentals through. Our office is at 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B in The Factory at Franklin, by appointment, and we serve businesses anywhere in Tennessee.
Send us what you have nowOr call (615) 378-7187. Franklin office, serving all of Tennessee.
Workers' compensation in Tennessee
Five employees is the line for most businesses
Tennessee requires most non-construction employers to carry workers' compensation once they have five employees. Part-time employees, working family members and minors all count toward the five.
Owners of sole proprietorships, LLCs and partnerships are not counted. Full-time corporate officers are counted, but they can exclude themselves from coverage by filing Form I-6.
Construction is its own category with different rules. If you build, remodel or do trade work, check the state's construction requirements before you assume the five-employee line applies to you.
The certificate your client asks for
Most commercial contracts in Williamson County, from general contractors to property managers to corporate clients, ask for a certificate of insurance, often naming them as additional insured.
Read the insurance section of the contract before you sign it. The limits and endorsements it asks for decide what the policy needs to say.
What we place for Tennessee businesses
The coverage most small businesses need
Not every business needs all of these. A good review starts with what you do, who you contract with and what you own, then builds only what fits.
Business owner's policy
General liability and business property packaged together, often with business income. The usual starting point for an office, shop or small service business.
General liability
Injury and property damage claims from customers, visitors and the work you do. The coverage most contracts and landlords ask to see.
Commercial auto
Vehicles titled to the business, or used mainly for it. A personal auto policy often excludes business use, which is a gap many owners discover at a claim.
Workers' compensation
Required for most Tennessee employers at five employees and often required by contract well before that.
Trucking
Commercial trucking and for-hire hauling, which run on their own forms and filings.
Your building and your rentals
Commercial property for the building you own or lease, and landlord coverage for the rentals your business holds. One agency, one conversation.
Questions
What Tennessee owners ask
When does a Tennessee business need workers' compensation?
Under the state's rules, most non-construction employers must carry it once they have five employees, counting part-time workers, working family members and minors. Owners of sole proprietorships, LLCs and partnerships are not counted; full-time corporate officers are, but can exclude themselves on Form I-6. Construction businesses have separate rules.
What is a business owner's policy?
A package that combines general liability and business property, usually with business income, for small and mid-size businesses. It is often simpler to manage than separate policies, though not every business qualifies for one.
Does my personal auto policy cover my work truck?
Often not, if the vehicle is titled to the business or used mainly for business. Personal auto policies commonly limit or exclude business use. If the truck carries tools, materials or a company name on the door, it should be looked at.
A client wants a certificate of insurance. How fast can I get one?
Once a policy is in force, certificates are routine. Send us the contract's insurance requirements first, because the endorsements it asks for, such as additional insured or waiver of subrogation, need to be on the policy before a certificate can show them.
Is there an office I can come to?
Yes. The Tennessee office is at 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B, Franklin, TN 37064, in The Factory at Franklin. Meetings are by appointment, and most reviews happen by phone and email.
What do you need from me?
What the business does, revenue and payroll in round numbers, number of employees, vehicles, any building you own or lease, the contracts that set insurance requirements, and your current declarations pages if you have coverage now.
Also for Tennessee owners and investors: landlord and rental portfolio insurance, short-term rental insurance in Nashville, apartment building insurance (5+ units), vacant building insurance, and Sullivan James Tennessee.
Start here
Send us what you have now
Upload your current declarations page, or tell us about the business if you are starting out. A contract's insurance requirements are worth attaching too.
A licensed Tennessee agent reads it and shops it across multiple carriers. No obligation to switch, and nothing changes on your current policy unless you ask.
Sullivan James Tennessee · 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B, Franklin, TN 37064 · by appointment
(615) 378-7187 · tn@sullivanjames.com
General information, not legal or tax advice, and it creates no agent-client relationship. Whether and on what terms a carrier will offer coverage depends on its own underwriting, and policy wording varies by company. The workers' compensation rules described are from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development's non-construction employer page on tn.gov, checked October 31, 2026. Sullivan James is an independent insurance agency licensed for property and casualty insurance, not an insurance company; for questions about how property is titled or held, talk to your attorney.