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Business Insurance: Benefits of General Liability Insurance

General Liability Insurance

Carrying adequate commercial general liability insurance coverage (CGL) is the only way to effectively protect your business’s assets.

Even in the most well-run businesses, incidents happen.

Whether these incidents are a result of property damage, bodily injury or both, they can be costly for businesses to deal with.

As such, it’s important for your business to be covered for a variety of possible risks.

CGL protects your business from damages caused by bodily injury or property damage for which your business is found to be legally liable.

What does general liability insurance cover?

A typical CGL policy provides coverage for claims of bodily injury or other physical injury, personal injury (libel or slander), advertising injury and property damage as a result of your products, premises or operations, and can be offered as a package policy with other coverages such as property, crime, automobile and more. 

As a safeguard against liability, CGL enables you to continue your normal operations while dealing with real or fraudulent claims of negligence or wrongdoing. 

CGL policies also provide coverage for the cost to defend and settle claims. 

Here is more detail into what a typical CGL policy may cover:

  • Automatic additional insured: Coverage is provided for written contracts, agreements and permits.
  • Personal and advertising injury: Protects against offenses made by you or your staff during the course of business, such as libel, slander, disparagement or copyright infringement in advertisements.
  • Defense costs: Provides coverage for legal expenses for liability claims brought against your business, regardless of who is at fault.
  • Medical expenses: Provides coverage for medical expenses if someone is injured on your premises or by your products.
  • Premises and operations liability: Provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage sustained by others on your premises or in conjunction with your business operations.
  • Products liability: Provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage sustained by others as a result of your products.  

How Much General Liability Insurance Does my Business Need?

The amount of coverage that your business needs depends on three factors: perceived risk, where you operate your business and the type of products you manufacture.

  • Perceived risk: Consider the amount of risk associated with your business operations and functions. For instance, if you manufacture heavy machinery you would generally need more coverage as compared to another organization that manufactures stuffed animals.
  • Premises and operations liability: If you operate in a state that has a reputation for rewarding high damages, then you may wish to purchase higher limits of liability.
  • Type of product manufactured: If you manufacture a dangerous product, you may want to carry higher limits of liability.  

Other Ways to Protect Your Business, In Addition to CGL

Here are some other tips for protecting your business.

  • Establish a high standard for product quality control at your business
  • Keep all business records up to date and accurate
  • Train your employees thoroughly and properly
  • Ask us for safety and compliance information

Conclusion

We know that running a business comes with plenty of risk, so it’s important to make sure you’re protecting yourself with the appropriate coverage.

Here at O’Neill Insurance, we understand your business needs to be protected, and we’re here to help.

If you need help with your business insurance and would like to speak to an advisor, fill out this brief form and one of our licensed advisors will be in contact with you.

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Components of this article were adapted from Zywave. This is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice.