Having your own business is as rewarding as it is risky. Protecting yourself and your employees from lawsuits nowadays is a must. This is when you would utilize a commercial General Liability Policy (GL). This will cover the expenses related to non-employee injuries that happen at your property or damage you cause to someone’s property and any advertising mistakes. These are some of the most common lawsuits that can happen from everyday business. This can happen when renting a property, working with clients, and interacting with customers.
If your business is facing a lawsuit that is covered by your General Liability policy, the insurance will help pay for your legal expenses, including attorney’s fees and settlements.
What does General Liability Insurance Cover?
General Liability Insurance is just one kind business liability insurance and perhaps the most important one. It takes care of third-party lawsuits, meaning lawsuits brought by anyone who isn’t employed by your business. Such as vendors, customers, your landlord, etc.
But General Liability Insurance only covers certain third-party lawsuits, including those caused by:
- Bodily injury/accidents on your property. Example: A client sues you after a slip and trip at your office and breaks a bone.
- Property damage. Example: If you rent your office space and your landlord sues you when a fire at your office destroys all or part of the building.
- Copyright infringement. Example: A competitor sues you, claiming your advertising and marketing materials look too similar to theirs.
- Reputation damage. Example: After you post critical comments on social media about a competitor, it sues you for the harm you caused to its reputation.
Having General Liability Insurance is planning for the unexpected and protecting your assets, investments, life’s work as well as your family’s future and financial security.
What doesn’t General Liability Insurance Cover?
General Liability Insurance benefits can only pay for certain lawsuits. Here are some examples of what may not be covered and what type of policy would cover it, if any.
- Professional mistakes (Professional Liability Insurance)
- Employee Injury on the job (Workers Compensation)
- Damage to your own business property (Commercial Property Insurance)
- Data breaches, crimes, and employee dishonesty – punishable by law
