Skip to main content
Monday–Friday · 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET·independent · Insuring businesses nationwide
Private security agencies · National commercial review
Insurance for armed security companies—built around the work you actually perform.
Start with general liability, then review commercial auto for patrol operations. Tell us where guards work, what they do, who drives, and what the contract requires.
At a Glance
- Primary review
- General liability
- Patrol exposure
- Commercial auto
- Operations
- Armed and unarmed
- Terms
- Subject to underwriting
Quick answer
Ellie Insurance Group helps security agencies nationwide prepare GL and commercial-auto submissions for market review. Disclose armed and unarmed guarding, patrol, client sites, executive protection, events, subcontractors, and vehicles; eligibility and terms are subject to underwriting and the issued policy.
Security work is not one exposure
Begin with the duties, locations, and people behind the contract.
Warehouses, residential communities, commercial campuses, executive protection, and events are underwriting differences—not one generic security label. Commercial general liability is commonly the first review for certain third-party allegations from operations, subject to its forms and limits.
Armed and unarmed assignments
Share the armed/unarmed split, post orders, supervision, and service mix. Firearms and use of force are never assumed covered.
Mobile patrol and driving
List patrol units, garaging, drivers, territory, and employee-owned or rented vehicle use. Auto is a separate review.
Sites and scope
Describe client sites, executive protection, events, and work beyond observe-and-report duties.
Eligibility boundary and a state-specific example
Higher-hazard work is not automatically eligible. Disclose executive protection, events, nightlife, detention-related work, traffic control, cannabis-related locations, weapons-related duties, and unusual assignments. Security-program applications separate armed/unarmed services, active duties, subcontractors, driving, and loss history. See an example supplemental. Florida Class B agencies have a statutory CGL certification requirement, including a $300,000 combined single limit. Confirm Chapter 493 directly; other states have their own rules.
Four incidents, four starting points
Map the allegation before assuming the policy.
These are hypothetical situations, not coverage decisions. One event can involve more than one policy, and no card confirms coverage.
Start with GL
Guard incident
A visitor alleges injury after a guard interaction. Review GL and the form’s personal-injury, assault-and-battery, firearms, or use-of-force wording.
Start with auto
Patrol collision
A patrol SUV collides with another vehicle between posts. Review auto liability, physical damage, vehicles, and drivers.
Request an auto quoteStart with workers’ comp
Employee injury
A guard is hurt on shift. Workers’ compensation is the separate employment-injury review.
Start with E&O
Professional advice
A client alleges a flawed assessment or recommendation caused a loss. Discuss professional liability separately when advice is in scope.
Business auto, workers’ compensation, and professional liability answer different questions. See the Insurance Information Institute overview. Review umbrella liability separately for requirements, exclusions, and follow-form language.
Contracts and certificates
A client requirement is not the same thing as coverage.
An agreement may request limits, additional insured status, a waiver, special wording, or a certificate. Those are contract requests. A certificate does not amend, extend, or create coverage beyond the policy and executed endorsements. Texas Department of Insurance guidance makes that boundary clear; rules vary by state.
Send the insurance section early for policy review, and consult legal counsel on the agreement. Do not promise a certificate, endorsement, notice right, or exclusion-free coverage before the policy supports it.
Subcontracted guards need their own review.
Disclose each subcontracted operation, agreement, requested limits, certificates, and additional-insured request. A certificate alone does not establish the requested protection. Ask how forms treat firearms, professional services, employee injuries, autos, and subcontracted work.
A useful first submission
Prepare the operational details before you request terms.
Clear facts distinguish mobile patrol from static guarding, or executive protection from event staffing. Ellie has access to markets for GL and commercial-auto review; terms are subject to underwriting.
Start an Instant Quote, call 813-582-5215, or email quote@ellieinsurancegroup.com. Do not send personnel records through an introductory form.
Bring these when available
- Business name, operating states, and licensing information
- Armed/unarmed payroll or headcount, services, sites, and post orders
- Patrol vehicles, garaging, drivers, and hired/non-owned auto use
- Current declarations, renewal date, loss runs, and contract requirements
Security company field guides
Answers worth reading before the next contract.
Practical, source-linked guides to the policy language, patrol operations, and underwriting questions that matter to security firms. Rules and coverage depend on your state and actual policy.
Liability wording
Armed incidents: read the exclusions first
Assault/battery, firearms, negligent supervision, defense costs and excess-policy boundaries.
Read the guideCommercial auto
Which patrol vehicles are actually covered?
Owned fleets, rented units, employee vehicles, take-home cars and property carried inside.
Read the guideContracts & COIs
Before signing the next security contract
Client limits, additional-insured endorsements, waivers and what a certificate cannot change.
Read the guideFlorida requirements
Florida agency insurance and B, D, G licenses
Separate the agency's obligations from individual guard credentials and client demands.
Read the guideQuote preparation
Build a stronger armed-security submission
The operational details, loss information, staffing and vehicle schedules underwriters need.
Read the guideReady to start a security-company insurance review?
Security agency FAQs
Answers before you request terms
General education only—not a coverage determination. The policy, claim facts, and applicable state rules control.
- No. Do not assume a policy covers firearms, assault and battery, false arrest, or use of force; the issued form, exclusions, endorsements, limits, and claim facts control.
- Review commercial auto for patrol vehicles and site-to-site driving. Employee-owned, rented, or borrowed autos can require a separate hired and non-owned auto discussion.
- No. A certificate cannot create coverage or rights beyond the policy and executed endorsements. Compare contract requests with the actual policy.
- Workers’ compensation addresses employee work injuries. General liability addresses certain third-party allegations. Neither replaces the other.
- Disclose armed and unarmed guarding, mobile patrol, client sites, executive protection, events, subcontractors, vehicles, employee driving, states of operation, licensing, and loss history. Higher-hazard services are not automatically eligible.
Keep reading
Continue your security insurance review
Armed security general liability
A closer review of guard-operation liability questions.
Security patrol commercial auto
Separate road exposure from guard operations.
Assault, battery, and firearms guide
Questions for reviewing exclusions and forms.
Security contracts, COIs, and endorsements
Prepare contract insurance language for review.
Sources
Regulatory and insurance-program references
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services — Private Security Licenses
- Florida Legislature — Chapter 493, including §493.6110
- Insurance Information Institute — Commercial General Liability Insurance
- Insurance Information Institute — Small Business Insurance Basics
- Ryan Specialty National Programs — Security Guard Program Application
- Texas Department of Insurance — Certificates of Insurance FAQ
Educational information only; not legal advice, an insurance quote, a promise of coverage, or a statement that any policy covers a particular event. Licensing, contract, certificate, and insurance rules vary by jurisdiction. Verify current requirements with the relevant regulator or contracting party, then compare them with the actual policy and endorsements. Last reviewed . Requirements and policy terms change — always confirm current rules with the relevant agency and verify coverage against the actual policy and a licensed agent.
Next step
Put your security operation in front of the right questions.
Start with your business, operating state, and direct contact details. We use your operational information to seek available GL and commercial-auto options; eligibility and terms are subject to underwriting.