Water leaks and frozen pipes tied with burglary and slip-and-fall incidents as the most common small business insurance claims in 2025, each accounting for 20% of filings with The Hartford, the insurer said Tuesday.
The Hartford-based company analyzed more than 1 million small business property and liability policies and found water and freezing damage represented about 22% of claims from 2020 to 2024. They cost an average of $34,600 to resolve, the fourth costliest type of claim.
Fire damage, while accounting for only 10% of claims, proved the costliest at $80,000 per claim — more than double the $35,000 average cost in 2015, according to the analysis.
The insurer’s 2025 report builds on a 2015 analysis, revealing notable shifts in small business risk over the decade. Water and freezing damage climbed from second place at 15% in 2015 to a three-way tie for first in 2025. Burglary and theft dropped from first place in 2015 but remained steady at 20% of claims.
Wind and hail damage held at 15% of claims in 2025, down from a three-way tie for second in 2015.
The most significant shift involved slip-and-fall incidents, which doubled from 10% of claims in 2015 to 20% in 2025. The average cost of those claims more than doubled as well, rising from $20,000 to $45,000.
The company attributed the increase in slip-and-fall claims partly to litigation and higher legal settlements.
Vehicle accidents ranked as the second-costliest claim type at $50,000 per incident in 2025, up from $45,000 in 2015. Water and freezing damage claims and reputational-harm claims tied for fourth-costliest, at $35,000 each.
The Hartford insures more than 1 million small businesses through its Spectrum Business Owner’s policy, which includes general liability, business property and business income coverage. The company said it established its small business insurance unit more than 40 years ago.
