Businesses need insurance coverage, not only to comply with the law but also to keep all their stakeholders safe. When you shop around for a good insurance policy for your business, you may come across comprehensive general liability insurance.
Is it the type of business insurance you need for your company? Keep on reading to find out.
Comprehensive general liability insurance, simply put, is the same type of insurance as a general liability policy. The only difference is that the former is the outdated way of describing the latter. The term comprehensive is not used anymore because there is no such thing as a “comprehensive” insurance policy—each one is restricted by certain limits and exclusions.
Nowadays, the most proper term to use is commercial general liability or CGL insurance. This policy is one of the first types of business insurance you should acquire, as it will cover you against claims of third-party bodily injury and property damage.
Before we tackle the coverage and limitations of CGL, let us talk about its cost. CGL insurance has no definite price because there are a lot of factors to consider.
You first have to gauge the risk in your industry, your company or business size, the location, claims history, and the limitations of the insurance’s coverage. Once you take all these factors into account, get ready to invest in CGL insurance for your business.
Here are selected liability claims that this insurance policy can help protect you from.
People can file a case against you when a person gets injured, acquires sickness, or gets infected by a disease from your business operations that resulted in death.
If you are working for someone and you, unfortunately, managed to ruin or destroy their property or a part of it, they can sue you for property damage.
Make sure that every product you manufacture or sell passes quality control because once there is a defect, it can cause bodily injuries or property damage that the customer can sue you for.
This type of coverage involves cases when you put out an advertisement that is eerily similar to your competitors and you receive complaints about it.
Also known as reputational harm, you can utilize CGL insurance for the legal cost of libel or slander claims about your business.
Here are some liabilities that CGL insurance does not cover.
If you failed to deliver the service that your customer wants and they sued you for it, you cannot use the CGL insurance. Instead, you can invest in professional liability insurance to help you when you commit mistakes in your professional services.
There is data breach insurance or cyber liability insurance available to help you if hackers try to steal your customers’ information from your business’s database.
Commercial auto insurances exist to help pay for costs related to car accidents of your employees.
If, for some unfortunate reason, your business is damaged to the point that you need to close for a while, you can invest in a business income insurance to help you in filling the income you lost while in shutdown.
Workers’ compensation insurance can help pay for the medical bills and other benefits of your employee who attained a work-related injury or illness.
General liability insurance protects you and your business against claims of negligence. These injuries can include bodily injury, property damage, or advertising damages sustained by a customer due to one of the many mistakes that may occur in day-to-day operations like providing poor service.
General liability is a must for any business. This comprehensive policy protects against common incidents, including bodily injuries and property damage.
The main risk of operating a business without any cover is that you may not have the funds to replace or repair damaged property, pay compensation for injured people and employees, or continue generating revenue.
If you don't have liability insurance and someone slips and falls in your shop or office, it may be liable for any costs associated with the injuries sustained. An LLC protects your personal assets from being attached to the obligations of the business because it provides liability protection for both owners and employees in case someone slips and falls or gets injured on property that's owned by the company.
If you have both types of risks, then yes, you do need to get liability insurance. Additionally, in some cases, your employer or client may require that professional liability and general liability coverage are included as a condition of employment or other agreement with the company.
Insurance policies are good investments in general, but it is imperative for business owners because there is an additional responsibility for customers and employees. After all, running a business comes with its fair share of trials, your Comprehensive General Liability policy can lessen the burden for you.
Learn more about insurance essentials for your business by exploring the resources from Assured Standard today!
