Commercial General Liability is a form of insurance sold to businesses to indemnify an insured from a wide variety of exposures and third party liability claims due to negligence. This form of coverage provides protection against accidents that occur on premise, bodily injury, and property damage losses, and contractual liability issues… all of which your company must be legally liable for and result from your usual everyday business operations.

Commercial General Liability can be written on two (2) different forms:

Occurrence Coverage Form - Liability insurance that is written on an “occurrence” basis applies to claims that occur during the policy term, regardless of when they are filed or reported.

Claims Made Coverage Form - Liability coverage provides protection against occurrences and claims that are made or reported only during the policy period. A Retroactive date will be established as the earliest possible date a claim can be reported. Any occurrences filed prior to this date would be excluded from coverage. On occasion something called an Extended Reporting Period is offered at a premium by an insurance carrier, which extends the reporting period beyond the policy expiration date. Keep in mind that the loss must still take place between the Retroactive and expiration dates.

Other coverage parts within the Commercial General Liability form are Personal and Advertising Injury, Products and Completed Operations, Medical Payments, and Fire Legal Liability (also known as Damage to premises rented by/to you)

Personal and Advertising Injury - Liability coverage for unintentional acts arising out of your business resulting in damages caused by the following: Libel or Slander, oral or written publication of material that violates a person's right of privacy, misappropriation of advertising ideas or style of doing business, and infringement of copyright, title, or slogan. This is just to point out a few of the many acts that would be provided protection under this coverage part.

Medical Payments - Liability coverage for any person or individuals for reimbursement by the insurance carrier for any medical payments as a result of bodily injury without regard for legal liability.

For a more comprehensive explanation of these vital business coverages please contact one of our highly skilled and licensed Commercial Lines Underwriters.