Commercial General, Umbrella and Excess Liability

Have you damaged someone’s car when removing snow from a driveway, hit a fire hydrant while buried under a snowbank or not fulfilling job requirements by not removing snow properly? This would be covered under a Commercial General Liability Insurance policy.

Commercial General Liability Insurance is a standard and common insurance policy issued to businesses and organizations to protect them against liability claims. This coverage is also sometimes referred to as a “comprehensive” general liability policy and it is an important business coverage.

Commercial General Liability or CGL insurance protects you and your business against claims for bodily or personal injuries, advertising liability, as well as property damage to third parties arising from your operations or products or occurring on your business premises. In the event you are sued for any claims arising out of the above, this protection would cover the legal costs to defend the claim against your business in court, as well as indemnity costs to cover damages to compensate third parties.

The typical CGL Insurance policy contains numerous types of coverage including:

• Bodily injury to third parties, including: bodily harm, sickness, or disease, including resulting death that results from your business operations. For example, if a customer slips in your store and breaks their hip, a CGL insurance policy could cover this liability.
• Property damage to third parties including: damage caused to property of others. For example, if a contractor accidentally damages the building next to the one he is working on, Commercial General Liability Insurance could cover the damage costs.
• Products liability that covers the liability for bodily injury or property damage incurred by a merchant or manufacturer as a consequence of some defect in the product sold or manufactured. For example, if a customer becomes sick after eating at a restaurant, that restaurant’s CGL insurance policy should cover any damages.
• Current and completed operations is a type of coverage under CGL insurance. This includes the work of the insured that has been completed as called for in a contract, work completed at a single job site under a contract involving multiple job sites, or work that has been put to its intended use. For example, if a plumber installs a new toilet and it begins to leak resulting in damage to the contents of the room below, this could be covered under the plumber’s Commercial General Liability Insurance policy.