Understanding Commercial General Liability Insurance in Sandy, UT

 

Commercial general liability insurance (CGL) is a standard insurance requirement for many businesses. Of course, understanding this insurance is not always as easy as procuring it. If you’re trying to understand the insurance that your business needs, you’re in the right place.

What’s Covered by General Liability Insurance?

In the world of commercial insurance, general liability is a kind of blanket coverage that protects a company and pays damages in the event of a lawsuit that includes property damage, bodily injury, or personal injury. This also covers slander and false advertising but doesn’t cover other areas of professional liability. Check out our page on D&O Insurance to learn more about specific coverages available for other needs.

General liability basically covers anything that isn’t explicitly excluded as it relates to lawsuits and financial damages charged against your company. Once you have this coverage, you’ll be able to add the other types of coverage to create a comprehensive portfolio.

This insurance does not cover punitive damages, since they’re considered a punishment for intentional acts. However, the insurer will provide coverage for general and compensatory damages that are the result of a lawsuit, as well as other legal costs, as a part of this coverage.

As a business owner, General Liability coverage is the beginning of the insurance coverage that you need. This protection will cover most major events and potential risks, saving your business a lot of financial risk of its own. It is one of the major types of business coverage, but it certainly isn’t the only coverage that you need. Our experts can help you with this and other coverages to create a comprehensive insurance portfolio.

Tips to Reduce Risk and Claims

As with anything, you’ll want to minimize your risk and make sure that you are doing everything in your power to reduce your chance of filing an insurance claim. Having coverage is great, but it’s better if you never have to use it. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Read up on and implement industry-specific best practices for workplace safety
• Train all employees on safety and hold regular meetings and check-ins
• Keep company records up-to-date and complete
• Set high standards for quality control

Other Factors to Consider

General liability is a very broad policy, so review the details to ensure that it covers all important areas and provides high enough limits.

Look for specific exclusions to coverage so that you don’t miss out on any important coverage that you need.

Policy Review Tips

When comparing general liability policies, consider the following:

• Is the coverage enough without being too expensive?
• Can you afford the deductible?
• Does the policy cover advertising injury or professional liability?
• What’s the insurer’s track record of paying claims like? Are they timely?
• Are there exclusions that are too limiting?
• Are the claim filing requirements too strict or difficult to follow?
• Do you need a separate policy for product liability?