Tennessee Business Insurance Guide 2026

Who must carry it: 5 or more employees; 1 or more in construction (Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Who Must Carry Insurance); coal mining employers cover all employees (Tennessee BWC: construction).

Generally speaking, businesses engaged in the construction industry are required to have workers’ compensation coverage for everyone including the business owners.

Source: Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Who Must Carry Insurance

Exemptions and exclusions

The bureau lists exceptions for non-construction employers with fewer than five regular employees, interstate common carriers covered by federal law, casual employment, domestic servants, farm and agricultural laborers, government entities and volunteer ski patrol; sole proprietors, LLC members and partners of non-construction businesses are not counted toward five (Tennessee BWC: non-construction). Construction owners can apply for an exemption for themselves only (Tennessee BWC: construction).

The agency to ask is the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Bureau of Workers' Compensation. When a proposal arrives, the workers' comp calculator lets you check its payroll math, and the workers' compensation guide explains what you are buying.

Tennessee's minimum auto liability limits:

• Bodily injury liability: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $25,000 per accident
• In force: for proof required after December 31, 2022 (Public Chapter 860 of 2022)
• Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue, Financial Responsibility Law

The required minimum limits of your liability car insurance are: $25,000 for each injury or death per accident. $50,000 for total injuries or deaths per accident. $25,000 for property damage per accident.

Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue, Financial Responsibility Law

After December 31, 2022, a single-limit policy of at least $65,000 is also accepted as proof (T.C.A. § 55-12-102(12)(D); Public Chapter 860).

If your business runs commercial or for-hire vehicles, they can face different or higher federal or state requirements, so check any lease or client contract too; the commercial auto guide can help.

Tennessee has no mandatory state-run paid family and medical leave insurance program and no state temporary disability insurance program for private employers, based on NCSL's table, last updated November 7, 2025 (NCSL: state family and medical leave laws), and a cross-check on October 3, 2026 with the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau.

The same NCSL page lists Tennessee among the states whose laws let employers buy optional paid leave coverage from private insurers; that option creates no employer mandate.

A 2026 law may not appear in that table yet, as Virginia's new program shows (Code of Virginia § 60.2-801); for a later payroll year, check with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Your trade license, lease or client contracts in Tennessee can set their own conditions, for example general liability limits or certificate wording. Keep track with the certificate of insurance checklist, and see the requirements-by-state guide if you work across state lines. Tennessee's workers' compensation rule applies to construction employers at one employee, including the owners unless they register an exemption, so contractors should check it alongside their license conditions.

• Workers' compensation: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Bureau of Workers' Compensation
• Auto liability minimums: Tennessee Department of Revenue, Financial Responsibility Law
• Paid leave and disability insurance: NCSL state family and medical leave laws and the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau

To prepare, run the state requirements checklist with your employee count and vehicle use; for a PolicyBenchmark follow-up, request coverage help.