General Liability Insurance
General Liability insurance coverage is to protect business from monetary damages they may become legally obligated to pay because of “bodily injury” or “property damage” to a third party which results from an accident or occurrence. We will review you exposures to get the most comprehensive coverage at the best price to protect your assets. Our agents help you understand the coverage limits and deductible options available so you make the right choices for your business. We are independent agents. We have over a hundred carriers to choose from so you get the right price, right carrier and right coverage for your liability exposures.
Bodily Injury
Your business could cause serious bodily harm or even death to people. General Liability insurance will defend your business and indemnify a third party if you are responsible for someone else’s injury, disease or sickness, general liability insurance pays expenses such as : Medical care costs, Loss of services and Court-awarded compensation for deaths or injuries that result from an accident or occurrence.
Property Damage
If an accident or occurrence causes damage or loss to someone else’s property and you are legally responsible, your property damage pays for that damage.
Products – Completed Operations
Commercial general liability insurance policies may include liability protection for services or products completed by your company. If your company manufactures a product or produces a service which causes an injury, your liability policy will pay for any resulting legal expenses, and the damages resulting to your policy’s liability limit.
Personal & Advertising Injury
Commercial General Liability policies include Personal & Advertising Injury which responds to the following types of claims: publishing, verbally or in writing, false information that libels or slanders a person or organization, publishing material that violates an individual’s privacy rights , copying another company’s style of doing business, or advertising concepts infringing on another business’s title, copyright or slogan.
Medical Payments
This coverage is available for emergency medical treatment in the event a person is injured at your location. The coverage will respond without regard to any legal liability or fault of your business.
Hired auto and non-owned auto
Businesses may add an option to their general liability policy called “hired auto and non-owned auto” insurance. If you don’t have any vehicles titled to your company. This insurance meets the requirements of any contract that requires you to provide commercial auto coverage. Additionally, if you or an employee is driving a personally owned vehicle on company business, and you have an auto accident, non-owned auto coverage protects the company if sued. The policy will not cover a law suit against you or your employee personally – that would be insured by a personal auto policy.
Common Practice is a $1,000,000 per occurrence $2,000,000 general aggregate limit policy.
General Liability policy premium is established according to the business exposure which may be area, sales or payroll depending on the type business being covered. General Liability can be written a stand alone or as part of a commercial business owner’s package policy.
Many small and medium-sized businesses are in a class insurance carriers describe as “low risk.” If your business is in this category, you may be eligible to purchase a low-cost package policy known as a Business Owner’s Policy, or BOP. This type of policy includes the most important types of commercial insurance: General Liability & Property and usually provides coverage enhancements that may not be available on other types of “stand alone” policies.
In addition to General Liability, Business Owners can purchase Umbrella / Excess Coverage to provide additional liability protection above the underlying General Liability. The Umbrella / Excess coverage can also be scheduled over other coverages such as , Auto Liability, Hired and Non Owned Auto and Directors and & Officers liability. The cost of Umbrella / Excess coverage is usually a small percentage of the underlying general liability policy premium.
Below are real examples of General Liability Claims:
- Insured is a Condo Association – Elderly woman tripped and fell due to poor maintenance of the sidewalk, fractured upper arm. Paid $56, 680 in GLBI
- Insured is a contractor hired to remodel a bathroom. He fails to do the plumbing under the sink properly and the supply line leaks causing damage throughout the house. Paid $70,049 under GLPD
- Insured is a hair style salon. Claimant is having her hair colored and sustained a chemical burn on her head resulting in a small amount of scarring and a permanent bald spot on her head. Paid $30,000 under GLBI
- Insured is a lawn mowing service. They run over a rock with their mower and the rock goes through the window of a neighboring business. Paid $2,361 under GLPD to replace the glass
- Insured is a sub-contractor, working on a job site and using a forklift to move a large piece of equipment. Insured fails to properly secure the load and the equipment falls and lands on one of the other sub-contractor’s employees, crushing his foot. Paid $120,000 in GLBI