There are a number of specialty coverage options that we can write into your custom insurance policy to protect your business from the weird curveballs that life throws, but first we begin every insurance plan with a solid general liability foundation. General liability insurance protects your business (and your team) from the costly distractions caused by property damage or injury lawsuits brought against you.
If you don’t have general liability coverage, you better keep a wad of cash on reserve, because the cost of defending yourself (even against the smallest of claims) could put you out of business.
At OnMarket Insurance Associates, we take any lawsuit very seriously and strive to protect you before accidents happen. Contact us today, and our licensed agents will evaluate the risks associated with your business to help you build the perfect coverage plan.
Key Terms for General Liability Insurance
Contract Liability
This type of insurance may also cover liability you assume when you enter into certain types of contracts such as leases, maintenance agreements, easement-of-license contracts, and ordinance-mandated agreements.
Fire Legal / Tenant Liability
This part of your GENERAL LIABILITY policy will cover damage you may cause to a landlord-owned building if you’re found to be negligent in starting a fire. A good example would be a fire in a restaurant that causes damage to the building. This would help you pay for the repairs if your landlord’s building insurance policy pays out the claim and then decides to come after you for repayment.
Hired & Non-Owned Auto Liability
This portion of a general liability policy provides both “Hired Auto” and “Non-Owned Auto” protection. Hired Auto would cover cars that you have leased or rented for damages caused both on and off your property. While Non-Owned covers cars owned by other people (like employees). If you do not have any vehicles in your company’s name, this option meets the minimum requirements for any contract requiring commercial auto coverage.
Liquor Liability
If your business is known to occasionally serve or distribute alcohol at no charge as an amenity for company functions, a general liability policy most likely covers your business against lawsuits associated with liquor-related accidents. However, if your business is in the manufacturing or sale of alcohol, we will want to talk about customizing your coverage with a full Liquor Liability policy.
Medical Expenses
Accidents happen, and should one occur that injures someone other than one of your employees, medical expenses coverage within a general liability policy provides compensation for the cost of any immediate medical needs. In addition to just being the right thing to do, offering immediate medical assistance (like covering an ambulance ride) could help you avoid much bigger and costlier problems that result from not providing immediate medical attention to the injured party.
Occurrence Liability
Typically a general liability policy will cover both bodily injury and property damage under an occurrence liability section. Additionally, a general liability policy will pay for medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of services, and court-awarded compensation in the case of a serious injury that happens both on and off of your property – these are costs far too large for an average small business to sustain on its own. Some things (like employees’ on-the-job injuries) are not covered, so we will want to discuss Workers’ Compensation Insurance as well.
Personal & Advertising Injury Liability
The worst damages are not always physical. Verbal allegations that your business caused non-physical damages to another person or entity, through the publishing of libelous or slanderous information, can greatly harm your business. This coverage can be there to help should something terrible happen.
Products & Completed Operations Liability
Commercial policies generally protect your business against claims related to faulty products or services provided by your business. Should one of your products hurt someone, or one of your services cause physical damage, you’re protected.
Any questions?
What should I expect to pay in the event of a lawsuit?
General Liability Insurance is built to protect your business from lawsuits, which usually include additional attorney fees, witness fees, court expenses, and more. Your policy will also cover settlements, and judgments arising from covered lawsuits, including the medical costs included within someone’s lawsuit against you. This stuff is never fun to think about, so give us a call and let our team take this burden off your hands … and out of your head!
Do all businesses need General Liability coverage, or only risky operations?
General liability coverage steps in when your business is faced with a lawsuit claiming bodily injury, personal injury or property damage. General liability insurance protects your business in the event of a costly lawsuit, even if the lawsuit in question is not true. Think of it like breath of fresh air for stressed out small-business owners.
What do you mean by “Non-Owned” Auto Coverage?
If you or an employee is driving a personally owned vehicle for business purposes and unfortunately get into an accident, Non-Owned Auto Coverage protects your company against a lawsuit. Non-owned auto under your commercial GENERAL LIABILITY policy will cover your business for the excess over what your employee’s personal auto insurance will pay out. If there is no personal auto policy in place, it will pay for the full claim.
