The policy that answers when a customer, a client or a passerby says your business caused them harm — including the cost of defending the claim.
General liability is the policy that responds when your business is blamed for hurting someone or damaging their property. A customer slips in your lobby, a crew member puts a ladder through a client's window, a finished job causes damage months later. The policy pays the claim up to your limits and, just as importantly, pays to defend you even when the claim turns out to be groundless.
Coverage usually splits into premises liability for things that happen at your location, operations liability for things that happen while you work at a customer's site, products and completed operations for claims that surface after the job is done, and personal and advertising injury for claims like libel or copyright issues in your marketing.
General liability does not cover injuries to your own employees — that is workers compensation. It does not cover damage to your own building, tools or inventory, or accidents involving business vehicles, which belong on a commercial auto policy. It also does not cover claims that you did your professional work badly, which is professional liability. Most businesses end up with several policies precisely because no single one does all of this.
General contractors, landlords, municipalities and larger clients almost always require a certificate of insurance before you can start work, often with specific limits and sometimes naming them as an additional insured. A slow certificate can cost you a job.
We issue certificates immediately upon binding. Request one by phone or email and it goes out the same day — no waiting on a queue, and no lost start date because the general contractor never got the paperwork.
Most of what we see is roofing, handyman and general trades work, and dump truck and hauling operations — but we have markets for a wide range of small businesses, including retail, restaurants, offices and service companies. If you are not sure we can place your class, it takes one phone call to find out, and the answer is usually yes.
A one million per occurrence and two million aggregate limit is a common starting point and is often the minimum written into contracts. What you actually need depends on your industry, your contracts and the size of the claim a bad day could produce. Contract requirements usually set the floor, not the ceiling.
It is not generally required by state law the way workers compensation and auto liability are. It is required constantly by contracts: leases, client agreements, general contractor requirements and licensing boards in some trades.
Premium is driven mainly by your industry's risk level, your revenue or payroll, your claims history and the limits you carry. A consultant and a roofing contractor with identical revenue will pay very different premiums.
Yes, that is a standard endorsement and a common contract requirement. Send us the contract language and we will confirm what the policy can provide; certificates go out immediately once coverage is bound.
Tell us what you need covered and one of our agents will get back to you.