A Guide to Commercial General Liability Insurance

As a business, you are bound to run into problems where insurance is necessary. Every business should be investing in commercial general liability insurance. This is the most basic form of insurance, and therefore should be accompanied by Business Insurance and Professional Insurance.

However, in the case of a lawsuit or negative claim from a third party person(s), your general coverage will take care of a significant amount of the costs incurred. As a business with much to lose, it’s important that you are covered in the most basic of forms. A lawsuit can do serious damage on your reputation, not to mention your budget.

While most companies offer similar coverage options, you want to make sure the insurance you choose will take care of any basic issue that may come up. Inquire about whether the insurer you are looking to go with covers advertising injury, which will cover libel and slander. You also need to have bodily injury, personal and property damage. The best plan will pay for damages whether they were incurred on the premises, while on the job, or using a work related product. General insurance is supposed to cover a range of injuries, thus you want to have all the basics taken care of.

It is important to note that your general insurance will cover your defense and settlement of claims whether they are true or not. Because there is much discretion left to the customer, there is a good deal of opportunity for them to be unsatisfied and claim a false problem.

Also covered are suits filed by employees and shareholders. As a public company, you are in a vulnerable place. When that becomes a problem, you can rest easy knowing your insurance covers you, regardless of who is putting you on the defense.

Some companies offer combined insurances so you can have more than the basic coverage while still getting a good price. For example, purchasing general liability along with business property will cover you in the case of property damage. The insurances combined will cover the assets of your business, regardless of what happened, not just the defense and court fees. These sorts of combined insurances are usually for larger businesses; often this is available for companies with $3million in annual revenue or more.

The most noteworthy claim not covered under this insurance is errors and omissions insurance. In the case that your business is found at fault for providing mistaken guidance, negligence or did not perform duties as were expected by the customer. If you are in the service industry, it would be a smart idea to also add this insurance into your protection plan. However, commercial general insurance should cover your basic insurance needs, which is often enough for most businesses.

When looking to purchase commercial general liability insurance, you can expect to find a lot of the same from most companies. However, finding an insurer that will offer bulk insurances, or other features such as safe business courses, will help make the decision a bit easier. To start your search, please feel free the look through our list of approved insurance vendors.