Commercial General Liability Insurance: Don’t Get Caught Slipping Without It
Don’t Risk Going Unprotected in the Marketplace Without Having Commercial General Liability Insurance.
Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance, also known as “business liability insurance” or simply “general liability insurance,” is a common type of business insurance that is carried by companies to protect themselves against “general claims.” Other names for this insurance include “general liability insurance.” “General claims” are claims that are submitted by customers or other third parties and frequently entail bodily injury or property damage. These types of claims normally either (a) take place on the premises of the firm or (b) are the outcome of the operations of the business. Companies can purchase CGL policies, which provide coverage for general claims originating from non-professional carelessness, in order to protect themselves against potential liability. CGL insurance often include coverage for both the costs of legal defence and the amounts of actual damages caused by the customer or another third party, and they provide coverage for both negligent acts and omissions. CGL policies also provide coverage for both.
A CGL policy might offer coverage in the event that a customer trips and falls inside the policyholder’s place of business, or it might offer coverage in the event that an employee negligently causes damage to a customer’s property (or the property of another third party). A CGL policy may also defend a company in the event that it is accused of defamation, slander, or an infringement of intellectual property rights in connection with its advertising. CGL insurance typically provide coverage for all reasonably necessary emergency, medical, and burial expenditures for customers and other third parties who are injured or murdered on the premises of a business or as a result of the ordinary operations of that firm. In a same vein, standard CGL plans will also cover losses that occur from injuries caused by advertising, such as damage done to the person’s character or reputation of a third party.
It is important to note that commercial general liability policies do not include coverage for the negligent performance of a company’s own services. To put it another way, whereas a CGL policy may offer coverage in the event that a plumber accidentally backs the company van into a customer’s fence, it does not often offer coverage in the event that a plumber instals a sink incorrectly. Because insurance providers in general do not desire to guarantee the quality of the work performed by their policy holders, commercial general liability policies normally do not provide coverage for this type of service. To continue with the plumbing example, if the sink that was negligently installed begins to leak and the leak then causes water damage to a customer’s home, the plumber’s CGL policy may kick in to provide coverage for the water damage itself. This would be the case if the sink began to leak after the plumber had installed it.
Other common types of coverage exclusions in CGL policies include those for professional error, employee injuries, stolen or damaged business property, employee discrimination lawsuits, liquor liability, and pollution liability. One of the most common types of coverage exclusions in CGL policies is for a company’s own work. It is essential to give your CLG policy a thorough study in order to ascertain the extent of the coverage (or lack thereof) that applies to your company. If you have inquiries about your particular CGL insurance, CGL policies in general, or any claims that could be filed against your company, we encourage you to get in touch with a member of our Litigation Practice Group so that we can provide you with additional information.
Follow us on Twitter
