GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
General liability insurance provides vital protection that covers you and your business against claims like bodily injury or property damage, out-of-court settlement costs, litigation, and judgments. This coverage also protects your company against allegations of libel, slander, unintentional copyright or brand infringement, and product liability.
On-Site and Off-Site Injury
Some types of injury that your company can be held responsible for may include bodily injury or damage directly related to an incident that occurs at your place of business such as a customer who trips and falls. But many types of injury could occur off-site. If a customer ate your bakery's muffins and believes her later symptoms requiring medical treatment resulted from the food you sold, you could be held liable.
Harm to Other Businesses
Perhaps the injury your company is accused of deals not with physical bodily harm, but harm to another business. General Liability insurance protects you from things you may not have even considered. If one of your employees unknowingly infringes on another business's copyrights in an advertisement or web page, general liability insurance can help protect your business against such allegations.
Office Space Rental Issues
If you rent your office space, this type of insurance can also help protect your business against some claims for damage to the property rented to you due to explosions, fire, or lightning.
Litigation
If you find yourself in litigation, some costs to consider may be an investigation by the insurance company, attorney fees, as well as a settlement or judgment. There are also potential medical costs if an injury was incurred. These are some of the many risks that general liability insurance can cover.
While not required by law, proof of general liability insurance coverage is required to apply for certain types of professional licenses. It is also a requirement frequently built into commercial leases and client contracts. Therefore, it is typically one of the first insurance policies small business owners purchase.
At Mountcastle, it is our job to help you anticipate the risks you may not have considered and to protect your business with the right insurance coverage to make sure that you are prepared for anything. Our agents are ready to tailor your general liability insurance policy to protect your business today.
GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE FAQs
No. Your worker's compensation insurance is the coverage needed to protect your employees if they are injured on the job.
In addition to employee injuries which are protected by worker's compensation, general liability coverage usually will not protect against intentional acts such as if your employee knowingly infringed on the copyrights of another company. It also does not cover against workmanship for things that would normally be protected by a company's warranty for their work.
General liability only covers third party property damage, in other words, damage caused by your business to another person's property but not yours. General Liability insurance will not cover professional mistakes like missing a deadline for a client's project or going over budget. You may benefit from professional liability insurance (also known as errors & omissions insurance) to cover such claims.