General Liability Insurance & Why Your Business Needs It
As a business owner, you take every step you can to ensure the safety of your clients and the quality of the products and services you provide. We can’t know every type of incident that can occur in the course of doing business, and general liability insurance provides vital protection for when something unexpected happens. Not only will this coverage protect your financial health when something goes wrong, but many clients and subcontractors will not enter a business relationship with an entity that doesn’t have general liability insurance in place.
What Does My General Liability Plan Cover?
Typically, a commercial liability insurance plan is concerned with protecting your business from claims brought against it by a third party, which may be essentially anyone who is not an employee or contractor for your business. This may include your customers or clients, users of your products, or anyone who comes into contact with you or your employees through the course of your doing business. Costs that may be covered by your plan include:
- Property Damage. No matter how careful your employees are, accidents can happen. When the people employed by your business are in contact with property belonging to clients or another third party, you’ll want to make sure you have the coverage necessary to repair any damages that have occurred through error or accident.
- Bodily Injury/Medical Expenses. No business owner likes to consider this possibility, but in today’s litigation-happy culture, there is a very real possibility that your business could face allegations of causing a third party bodily harm, and you could be responsible for the individual’s medical expenses and other damages. These claims can be related to harm caused by your product, or a personal injury claim after an accident occurs.
- Non-Physical Personal Injury. In addition to physical injury, a third party could also sue your business for alleged defamation or slander.
- Associated Legal Fees. Regardless of the outcome, any litigation is time-consuming and expensive. General liability insurance can help cover legal costs while you keep things running as smoothly as possible.
Unless otherwise specified, a general liability plan does not include workers’ compensation, professional liability insurance, or commercial auto insurance.
Knowing Your Options for Business Insurance
If you own property from which you conduct your business, you should ensure you have adequate property insurance that will cover damage to the building from severe weather, fires, accidents, and other incidents. You may choose a Business Owners’ Policy (BOP) that combines commercial property insurance with general liability insurance for comprehensive coverage at a reasonable price. Knowing the limitations of your coverage is exceptionally important – every policy is different. Specific insurance needs very depending on geographic area, the specific services rendered by your business, whether you use employees or contractors, and countless other factors.
General information is no substitute for a face-to-face conversation with a business insurance agent who can walk you through your liability risks and coverage options. Don’t be caught off guard by discovering what your policy covers only after an incident has occurred – get in touch with us for insurance advice you can trust.