Commercial General Liability

All business owners face certain risks the moment they open for business. The risk of losing capital if your business fails can be a daunting topic to deal with, but in most cases, the business owner has written a clear business plan to help them project their financial needs for many years to come. However, what should be considered to be just as important is the risk of taking a huge financial hit resulting from an action being brought against your business by one of your customers or vendors.

Things can go wrong in any business, and the best and most economical way to protect the business is with proper insurance coverage with adequate limits. Commercial General Liability (CGL) is considered the cornerstone of business insurance. This coverage is typically packaged with Commercial Property coverage, but can also be purchased as a stand-alone policy. For instance, many independent contractors that do not have a lot of equipment will purchase a stand-alone CGL policy where as a business with property, such as a retail store; will purchase the CGL policy as part of a package policy. In any case, the CGL policy forms the cornerstone of every commercial insurance program.

Coverage Provided

A typical CGL policy includes several basic coverages, but can be endorsed to add additional coverage when the need exists :

Bodily Injury Liability – Provides coverage in the event of an injury to a 3rd party
Property Damage Liability – Provides coverage in the event of property damage caused to a 3rdparty
Personal Injury Liability – This coverage pays for your liability resulting from slander, libel and false arrest
Premises Liability – This will pay for damages you may be liable for while renting a premise such as a warehouse, office or retail space

Additional Coverage

Since every industry presents different risks, you will want to consider additional coverages that can be added on (endorsed) to your policy to accommodate your specific needs :

Employee benefits liability

Additional insured
Contractual Liability
Products Completed Operations

Probably, the most useful part of the CGL policy is the coverage for defense costs. Even a frivolous action needs a response from an attorney; your insurance carrier will respond on your behalf whether the claim is frivolous or justified.

Your business is important to you, and your investment should be properly protected. Rather than guess about coverages or purchase a cookie-cutter policy, take just a few minutes and contact us and we will be happy to prepare a personalized coverage package that will protect your business and your investment.

Commercial General Liability

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