Commercial General Liability (CGL)

A Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy protects your business from financial loss should you be liable for property damage or personal and advertising injury caused by your services, business operations or your employees. It covers non-professional negligent acts.

A CGL insurance policy will usually cover the costs of your legal defense and will pay on your behalf all damages if you are found liable-up to the limits of your policy. CGL coverage is one of the most important insurance products, due to the negative impact that a lawsuit can have on a business and because such liability suits happen so frequently. Standard CGL includes:

• Coverage A: Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability. Bodily injury and property damage coverage provides protection against losses from the legal liability of insureds for bodily injury or property damage to others arising out of non-professional negligent acts or for liability arising out of their premises or business operations. Mental injuries and emotional distress can be considered bodily injuries, even in the absence of physical bodily harm.
• Coverage B: Personal and Advertising Injury. Personal and advertising injury liability protects an insured against liability arising out of certain offenses, such as:
• Libel
• Slander
• False arrest
• Infringing on another's copyright
• Malicious prosecution
• Use of another's advertising idea
• Wrongful eviction, entry or invasion of privacy
• Coverage C: Medical Payments. Limited coverage for medical payments includes payments for injuries sustained by a non-employee caused by an accident that takes place on the insured's premises or when exposed to the insured's business operations. Medical payments coverage can be triggered without legal action. This provides for prompt settlement of smaller medical claims without litigation. It is included in the CGL policy and pays for all necessary and reasonable medical, surgical, ambulance, hospital, professional nursing and funeral expenses for a person injured or killed in an accident taking place at the insured's premises or arising from business operations.

commercial general liability insurance can be purchased as a stand-alone policy, as part of a Business Owners Policy (BOP) or as part of a Commercial Package Policy (CPP).

If your general liability policy, BOP or CPP do not provide sufficient coverage, you may want to consider purchasing a commercial excess (umbrella) policy, which will provide additional protection.

Depending on your type of business, you may want to consider additional liability coverage that is not part of commercial general liability insurance. Other types of liabiity insurance to consider are:

• Directors and Officers liability
• Error and Ommissions
• Employement Practice Liability
• Cyber Liability