Why Do I Need Business Liability / Commercial General Liability Insurance?
Your company faces liability every day. The only way to protect your assets is to carry adequate business liability insurance. General liability insurance is the first line of defense in the event of a third party claim against the policy holder.
Business Liability insurance protects your business against financial loss resulting from claims of injury or damage caused to others by you or your employees. It enables your business to continue operations while it faces real or fraudulent claims of certain types of negligence or wrongdoing.
Liability insurance policies have limits per occurrence on the amount the policy will pay in the event of a single claim. Policy aggregate limits restrict the amount the policy will pay regardless of the number of claims or occurrences.
CGL policies cover claims in four basic categories of business liability:
- Bodily Injury
- Property Damage
- Personal Injury (including slander or libel)
- Advertising Injury
In addition to covering the claims listed above, CGL policies also cover the cost to defend or settle claims, even if fradulent.
- Automatic Additional Insured. Coverage is automatically provided when required in a written contract, agreement or permit.
- Personal and Advertising Injury. Covers you for certain offenses you or your employees commit in the course of your business, such as libel, slander, disparagement, or copyright infringement in your advertisements.
- Defense Costs. Pays legal expenses for certain liability claims brought against your business regardless of who’s at fault.
- Medical Expenses. Pays the applicable medical costs if someone is injured and needs medical treatment due to an accident on your premises.
- Premises and Operations Liability. Provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage sustained by others at your premises or as a result of your business’ operations.
- Tenant’s Liability. Protects your business against claims of damage due to fire or other covered losses caused by you to premises that you rent.
Commercial General Liability Only Protects Against Some Business Liabilities.
General Liability insurance does not protect your business against every liability. If you or your employees make professional judgments and recommendations in the course of your business, ask Chesapeake Insurance Services for a Professional Liability policy in addition to a CGL policy.
