A Comprehensive 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. Understanding this coverage is an important first step in managing CGL risks.

Commercial general liability comparisons:

• Business Owners Policy (BOP): While BOP's do contain general liability, it is only a portion of the Business Owners Policy package. Business Owners Policies also contain Business Property coverage, plus other optional coverages.
• Professional Liability: Professional Liability protects professional individuals, while Commercial General Liability protects a company.  Some examples of the term professional include Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants and even Insurance Agents.

General Liability Comments:

• If you hire sub-contractors, be sure to require them to sign a "Hold Harmless" agreement.  A hold harmless agreement protects business owners from being sued when someone suffers damage, bodily injury while a service is being provided by a sub-contractor on your job site.  This applies even if the sub-contractor maintains a current general liability policy.  Example: On your construction site, one of your sub-contractors drops a hammer and it hits someone on a lower floor and injures them.  Naturally, the sub-contractor faces a liability exposure, but it is also possible that the injured could say that you provided an unsafe work space and hold you liable as well.
• Click Here to be directed to a website that offers free Hold Harmless Agreements.