If you operate a business, no matter the size, you need general liability insurance. It can safeguard your business from financial loss from damage and injury claims arising from normal business operations.
The Insurance Information Institute considers general liability insurance to be one of the most important for running your company. The Institute for Legal Reform under the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported in 2024 in “Tort Costs for Small Businesses” that commercial liability costs small businesses $160 billion.
Consider this example of a potential claim: You operate a small advertising firm, and you get hit with a class-action lawsuit, claiming your ads contained misleading information. You could suffer financial and reputational losses from such a lawsuit. Hulett Insurance offers liability insurance to safeguard your family and business.
Here’s a close look at what general liability insurance (also known as commercial general liability insurance or business liability insurance) can cover for your business.
What Can General Liability Insurance Cover?
Business liability insurance typically can help guard your company against claims of bodily injury and property damage, personal and advertising injury, and medical payments. Your policy may also cover the costs to defend your company against a lawsuit and may pay all damages up to the limit of your policy if you’re found liable.
Here are the areas general liability insurance may cover:
Bodily Injury and Property Damage
This can pay the medical bills, lost pay, and legal costs if someone is injured at your business or because of your business operations.
Your insurance may also pay the costs to repair or replace someone’s property damaged by your company.
Personal and Advertising Injury
Under personal and advertising injury, general liability insurance may help guard against claims of libel, slander, copyright infringement, and other similar alleged offenses.
Medical Payments
If someone who is not an employee is injured or killed on your business property or as a result of your business operations, the person or their family may file a claim against your general liability insurance. Your insurance may provide limited coverage to pay for all necessary and reasonable medical, surgical, ambulance, hospital, nursing, and funeral expenses.
Claims for medical payments may be made without a lawsuit, allowing small claims to be settled without expensive litigation. With medical payments, your liability insurance doesn’t cover the cost of your legal defense, as it does with property damage and personal and advertising injury.
Typically, you can buy general liability insurance as a stand-alone policy or as part of a business owners policy, a package that bundles commercial property insurance and liability insurance into one policy.
What’s Not Covered?
General liability insurance can provide an important safeguard against potentially ruinous lawsuits and claims. However, you may consider talking to your independent insurance agent about additional risks not covered by general liability insurance, including:
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Employee Injuries: Covered by workers’ compensation insurance
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Damage to Your Property: Covered by commercial property insurance
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Vehicle Accidents: Covered by commercial auto insurance
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Employee Errors: Covered by professional liability insurance
Depending on your business, you may also pursue employment practice liability insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, liquor liability insurance, or pollution liability insurance.
Talk to the Team at Hulett Insurance About General Liability Insurance
Legal claims against your business for damages caused by your operations or employees can hurt your bottom line or force you to close your doors. General liability insurance can be a safety net when an accident occurs or a service or product causes damages or injuries to someone outside the company.
Hulett Insurance is an independent insurance agency that can service your business insurance needs, including general liability insurance. Give us a call today.
