How can a founder get health insurance before hiring employees?

HealthCare.gov says a person running an income-producing business without employees is self-employed and can buy individual Marketplace coverage. Losing job-based coverage qualifies for a Special Enrollment Period. This is health coverage guidance, not a rule for commercial liability or worker classification.

Compare Marketplace options with spouse or household coverage. An offer of job-based coverage usually changes eligibility for Marketplace savings, with exceptions; check the current application against household facts.⁵

Read the Startups Insurance Buying Guide

Sources and Further Reading for Startups

1
Commercial Insurance Guide — California Department of Insurance. Commercial Insurance Guide: commercial property, business interruption, commercial general liability, and rating a commercial insurance policy; revised June 14, 2024.California guide to commercial property, general liability, business interruption, and quote-rating factors.
2
Cyber Insurance — Federal Trade Commission. What Should Your Cyber Insurance Policy Cover?; First-Party Coverage; Third-Party Coverage.FTC small-business examples for first-party and third-party cyber coverage; compare them with the actual quote.
3
Cyber Insurance Coverage & Products — Chubb. DigiTech Enterprise Risk Management; Professional Enterprise Risk Management; Cyber Insurance Coverage; First-Party Coverage.Chubb-attributed technology E&O and cyber interruption examples; product summaries are not the buyer’s policy wording.
4
Small Business ForeFront Portfolio 3.0 for Private Companies — Chubb. Coverage Highlights; Directors & Officers; Key Features.Chubb’s private-company coverage highlights include D&O; this does not establish a universal fundraising requirement.
5
Health Care Insurance Coverage for Self-Employed Individuals — HealthCare.gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Marketplace coverage for self-employed people; job-based coverage; spouse coverage.Current federal Marketplace guidance for founders with no employees and loss of job-based coverage.
6
Covered California for Small Business — Covered California. What You Can Do With CCSB; self-employed people with no W-2 employees; applicable large employer summary.California group-health plan choices and the individual-plan route for self-employed people with no W-2 employees.
7
Determining if an Employer Is an Applicable Large Employer — Internal Revenue Service. Basic Information; Full-Time and Full-Time Equivalent Employees; Aggregation Rules; Seasonal Workers; New Employers.IRS explanation of prior-year full-time and FTE counting, aggregation, seasonal workers, and new-employer rules.
8
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for Employers — California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation. About Insurance Coverage; employee requirement, sole proprietors and officers; FAQ page dated March 2023.California-specific workers’ compensation employer guidance, including employee and business-structure questions.
9
Employer Information — California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation. Employer information for businesses with employees working in California, including out-of-state employers.California DWC example for out-of-state employers with employees who work in California.

Get Help With Insurance Buying and Renewals.

Get help buying coverage and managing renewals, with less paperwork for your team. Create your account and submit an insurance request online.

Talk to Spot