Business general liability insurance, also known as commercial general liability (CGL) insurances, provides your business protection from claims against you for personal injury that occurs on your business property, or at other locations by your vehicles, equipment, employees or other business operations.
What Does Commercial General Liability Insurance Cover?
Here are some of the damages that are covered by most business general liability insurance policies:
- Bodily injury and property damage. Business general liability insurance protects your business from claims against you because of bodily injury or property damage to others. These claims could be the result of negligent acts on your business property or through your business operations. Mental and emotional distress may also be considered bodily injuries and would be covered as well. In short, business general liability insurance covers any damage caused by your business, product, work, and employees to your clients or customers, or their property.
- Personal and advertising injury. Commercial general liability insurance also covers any damage your business or employees cause to person’s character, position in the community, and reputation. It protects your company against claims for:
- Wrongful eviction, entry or invasion of privacy
- Malicious prosecution
- Action that results in another person’s false arrest
- Libel
- Slander
- Copyright infringement
- Medical payments. If one of your customers or clients, or any other person, suffers an injury on your premises, your business general liability insurance policy will cover the medical expenses they incur because of the incident, whether it is caused by an accident or your business operations. Here are some of the medical expenses that are covered by a commercial general liability insurance for a person who is injured or killed on your premises:
- Medical expenses
- Surgical expenses
- Ambulance expenses
- Hospital expenses
- Professional nursing expenses
- Funeral expenses
- Continued operations. Business general liability insurance provides financial protection to your business by providing the financial resources to continue your business operations after an unexpected event. CGL covers cost such as:
- The cost of defending your business or the investigation of a lawsuit against you
- Expenses incurred by your insurance company during your defense in a lawsuit
- Settlement costs for a lawsuit
What Is Not Covered by Business General Liability Insurance
- Your property. Business general liability insurance policies cover damage your business causes to a third-party’s property. These policies do not cover damage to your business property. You will need to purchase separate insurance to protect your business property.
- Professional services. Most commercial general liability insurance policies do not cover your business from claims against your business for professional services your business provides to your clients. To protect yourself against claims that arise from your professional services, ask your insurance provider about professional liability insurance.
- Your employees. Commercial general liability policies also do not cover medical or other expenses for your employees if they are injured on the job. Ask your insurance provider about workers compensation plans to provide this coverage.
If you own a business, be sure to speak with your insurance provider to determine if you need commercial general business liability insurance They can help you get the policy that best meets your needs.
Call or email Scott Hartzell at 215-997-5800 to get a thorough examination of your existing coverage and to see if a general business liability policy is right for you.