General liability is the base layer of nearly every commercial insurance program, and it is the coverage most often named in the contracts you are asked to sign. It responds when someone outside your business is injured, or their property is damaged, in connection with your operations.
It is also widely misunderstood. General liability does not cover your own property, your own employees, or mistakes in your professional work. Those are separate policies, and assuming otherwise is a common and expensive gap.
What it responds to
- Bodily injury to third parties: a customer injured at your location, or a member of the public injured by your operations off-site.
- Property damage to others: damage you cause to a client's building, equipment or premises while working.
- Products and completed operations: claims arising after a job is finished or a product has left your hands.
- Personal and advertising injury: libel, slander and copyright claims arising from your advertising.
- Defense costs: legal defense, which the carrier typically pays even when a claim turns out to be groundless.
What it does not cover
Employee injuries go to workers' compensation. Damage to your own building, equipment or inventory goes to commercial property. Errors in professional advice or service go to professional liability. Vehicles go to commercial auto. We map these out so you know where each exposure sits instead of finding out during a claim.
Limits, aggregates and umbrellas
A general liability policy carries a per-occurrence limit and a separate annual aggregate. Contracts commonly require $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, but that is a floor, not an answer. When your real exposure is higher, a commercial umbrella adds limits above general liability, commercial auto and employers' liability at once, and is usually far cheaper than raising each underlying policy.