What Is General Liability Insurance Coverage?
General liability insurance (GL) helps protect your business from claims alleging:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage resulting from your business operations
- Personal and advertising injury
Commercial general liability insurance (CGL), also known as business liability insurance or general liability insurance, provides coverage for:
- Customer injuries
- Damage to customers’ property
- Lawsuits
It can help pay for medical expenses as well as legal costs if an incident leads to a lawsuit.
When looking for commercial liability insurance, consider The Hartford. We offer some of the broadest business insurance coverage available today.
What Does Commercial General Liability Insurance Cover?
Commercial general liability insurance helps protect your business and employees from the risk of lawsuits involving:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage
- Libel
- Slander
Examples of these claims include:
- Bodily injury or property damage. For claims that your business caused someone bodily harm or damaged someone's property.
- Reputational harm. For claims of malicious prosecution, libel, slander, wrongful eviction, violation of the right of privacy and more.
- Advertising injuries. For claims alleging copyright infringement in your advertisements.
- Medical payments. To help cover medical costs if someone sustains an injury at your business.
- Damage to rented property. If property you rent gets damaged by fire, lightning or explosion.
At The Hartford, we offer general liability insurance as a stand-alone policy or as part of our
Business Owner's Policy (BOP). Through our BOP policy, you can bundle your general liability insurance and property insurance. You can also add professional liability insurance as an optional coverage.
That said, it doesn’t matter if you’re a small business owner or a contractor. It’s important to consider some sort of business liability insurance. Your business won’t be safe without it.
How Much Does General Liability Insurance Cost?
The cost of general liability insurance premiums vary depending on the business. In fact, several elements are factored into a business's policy premium.
The first factor includes the type of business. As you can imagine, companies in higher risk industries are charged higher premiums compared to lower risk businesses. For instance, construction companies are likely charged a higher premium than consulting companies.
Another factor that’s calculated into a premium rate is how many years of experience your business has. More experience may equate to lower rates. Other factors that can affect your premium rate include your business’s:
- Location
- Size
- Condition of the building your business operates in
- Insurance claims history (only in certain cases)
There are policy specific details that affect your rate such as coverage limits. Higher coverage limits cost more. Although, electing higher deductibles can help lower your premium cost.
To learn more about the general liability insurance costs, get a free GL quote online. Business liability insurance is a must. The future of your business will thank you.
Why Do You Need General Liability Insurance?
Many business owners wonder why they need general liability insurance. The answer is simple. You need this insurance to help protect your business from the costs of liability claims. These claims can arise from common business situations including:
- You or your employees representing your client's business
- Meeting with clients face-to-face
- Working on or with others' property
- Using third-party locations for business activities
General liability coverage can also help protect you from advertising lawsuits. This is also an important coverage to have when you have clients who need proof of insurance before they sign a contract. Get a quote from The Hartford today.
What Is Specialty General Liability Insurance?
We designed our specialty general liability insurance (SGL) for high hazard liability exposures. These usually involve unique products, services and premises risks.
Our SGL group includes underwriters,
risk engineering consultants and liability claims specialists. These specialists are all experienced in hard-to place risks. They're also experienced at special products and premises risks.
We offer solutions for:
- Manufacturers
- Wholesaler-distributors and importers of difficult-to-place products
- Others with unique or difficult general liability exposures
Stand-alone or bundled with other solutions from The Hartford, our Specialty General Liability coverage and services are designed to provide a total solution. Our coverage helps protect against third party injuries and associated defense costs in addition to other high hazard exposures.
Extended Business Liability Insurance Coverage & Risk Engineering
- Extending your coverage. Say a contract requires your business to add individuals to your business liability policy. The Hartford helps make it easy to add them to your policy.
- Improving safety and reduce risk. One of the best ways to avoid a lawsuit is to run the safest business possible. The Hartford's Risk Engineering group is part of our General Liability Insurance policy team and can help with one-on-one risk management consultations and safety seminars. They can also find ways to save companies money with discounts for things like installing safety equipment and following best practices.
Ready for a general liability quote? Learn more about how you can tailor your
business insurance from The Hartford.
Is Business Liability Insurance Required by Law?
Business liability insurance is not usually required by law. However, it can help protect your business and personal assets if they’re taken in a judgment against you. It can also help protect you as a tenant if you cause damage to a property you rent. Some states require coverage when applying for professional licenses. These can include a plumber's license or an electrician license.
Let The Hartford help you with your commercial general liability insurance needs. Unlike other insurance companies, we have more than 200 years of experience helping customers find the coverage they need. We can help you make the right decisions when choosing your business liability insurance.
Article by TheHartford.com
2019-08-18 15:32:39
