General liability insurance is rapidly growing in the market today – and for good reason. It provides coverage for liability issues resulting from personal and advertising injury, including medical expenses.

Unfortunately for every business owner, the chances of getting sued have dramatically increased in the last decade. General Liability insurance can prevent a legal suit from turning into a financial disaster by providing financial protection in case your business is ever sued or held legally responsible for some injury or damage. It is intended to guard operators and owners of companies from claims that may come from a broad spectrum of sources. These exposures could be just about anything.

General Liability addresses accidents stemming from on-site mishaps, as well as any injuries or damages incurred as a result of using goods or services sold on-premises. In addition to the financial limits of the policy, it can be designed to cover supplemental payments for attorney fees, court costs and other expenses associated with a claim or the defense of a liability suit.

The liability you select, whether it is one, two, or three million dollars, determines the cost of general liability insurance. Also factored into the rates are the kind of work undertaken, gross receipts and total payroll expenses. It is the business owner’s or general contractor’s job to make sure that the people working under him/her are covered by an insurance policy.

The following coverage is often included in a general liability line:

Broad Range of General Liability Protection  

• Bodily Injury, including the cost of care, the loss of services, and the restitution for any death that results from injury
• Property Damage coverage for the physical damage to property of others or the loss of use of that property
• Products-Completed Operations provides liability protection (damages and legal expenses up to your policy’s limit) if an injury ever resulted from something your company made or service your company provided
• Products Liability is a more specialized product liability insurance that protects your company against lawsuits from product-related injury or accidents
• Contractual Liability extends to any liability you may assume by entering into a variety of contracts
• Other coverage includes: Reasonable Use of Force; Borrowed Equipment; Liquor Liability; Non-Owned Vehicles (such as aircraft and watercraft); Fire, Lightning or Explosion Damage; Water Damage Liability Protection; Legal Defense Costs; Medical Payments; Personal Injury; Advertising Injury; and specialized liability protection for specific business types