General Liability Insurance

General Liability Insurance for Terre Haute and Wabash Valley Businesses

Commercial General Liability insurance, commonly called CGL or General Liability Insurance, is designed to help protect a business against certain third-party claims arising from its premises, operations, products, or completed work.

Crapo Insurance Agency works with businesses throughout Terre Haute and the Wabash Valley to help identify their liability exposures and compare available insurance options.

What Does General Liability Insurance Cover?

A commercial general liability policy typically provides several important forms of protection, subject to the policy's limits, exclusions, conditions, and endorsements.

Bodily Injury Liability

If a customer, visitor, or other third party is injured because of a covered incident involving your business, general liability insurance can help address covered medical expenses, legal costs, settlements, or judgments.

A common example is a customer who slips and falls at a business location.

Property Damage Liability

General liability can help protect your business if its operations cause covered damage to property belonging to someone else.

For example, a contractor performing work at a customer's location could accidentally damage the customer's building or other property.

Personal and Advertising Injury

General liability policies can also provide protection against certain claims involving offenses such as libel, slander, wrongful eviction, invasion of privacy, or certain advertising-related injuries.

The exact protection depends upon the policy and circumstances of the claim.

Legal Defense Can Be an Important Part of the Coverage

A liability claim can create substantial expense even before a court determines whether the business is legally responsible.

Commercial general liability policies typically provide for the defense of covered lawsuits and may pay covered settlements or judgments up to applicable policy limits.

That means liability insurance is not only about paying a claim. The cost of defending a business against a covered allegation can itself be significant.

General Liability Applies to Many Different Businesses

Liability exposures vary considerably depending on what a company does.

General liability insurance may be appropriate for businesses such as:

• contractors and trades
• retail stores
• restaurants and service businesses
• offices
• wholesalers
• property owners
• manufacturers
• consultants with premises-related exposures
• organizations working at customer locations
• companies that sell or distribute products

The policy should reflect the actual operations of the business rather than simply using a generic description.

Premises and Operations Liability

A business can face liability because of conditions at its own location or because of work performed elsewhere.

Premises liability involves exposures associated with the business location—for example, a customer being injured because of a hazardous condition.

Operations liability can involve injury or property damage resulting from work being performed by the business or its employees.

Businesses that regularly work at customer locations can have particularly important operational exposures.

Products and Completed Operations

Liability does not always end when a product is sold or a job is finished.

Depending on the business and policy, general liability can include products-completed operations coverage, which can address certain bodily injury or property-damage claims arising after a product has been sold or work has been completed.

For example, a completed installation that later causes covered property damage could potentially create a completed-operations claim.

This exposure can be especially important for contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and businesses that install or repair equipment.

What General Liability Usually Does Not Cover

General liability is broad business protection, but it is not designed to cover every type of risk.

Depending on the business, separate insurance may be needed for exposures such as:

• commercial vehicles
• workers' compensation
• professional errors or omissions
• employment practices
• cyber incidents and data breaches
• pollution or environmental liability
• damage to the business's own property
• certain liquor-related liability
• directors and officers liability

This is why identifying the activities of the business is important before selecting a policy.

General Liability and Commercial Property Are Different

General Liability Insurance and Commercial Property Insurance protect different exposures.

General Liability Insurance generally addresses covered claims made by third parties alleging injury, property damage, or certain personal and advertising injuries.

Commercial Property Insurance is designed to protect the business's own covered buildings, equipment, inventory, and other physical property.

Many businesses need both.

For eligible small businesses, property and liability coverage may sometimes be combined in a Business Owner's Policy, or BOP.

Contract Requirements Can Affect Your Coverage Needs

Some businesses are required by customers, landlords, lenders, general contractors, or other organizations to maintain particular liability limits.

A contract may also require:

• a Certificate of Insurance
• specific policy limits
• additional insured status
• primary and noncontributory wording
• waiver-of-subrogation provisions
• completed-operations coverage
• other endorsements

The exact insurance requirements depend upon the agreement.

Businesses should provide these requirements when requesting coverage so the agent can determine whether the requested terms are available and appropriate.

How Much General Liability Insurance Does a Business Need?

There is no single liability limit that is appropriate for every business.

The amount of protection to consider can depend on factors such as:

• type of business
• customer traffic
• work performed away from your premises
• use of subcontractors
• products sold or distributed
• contractual requirements
• size of the business
• potential severity of a claim
• assets that could be exposed
• previous claims
• industry expectations

If greater liability limits are needed, commercial umbrella or excess liability coverage may also be worth discussing.

Certificates of Insurance

Businesses are frequently asked to provide a Certificate of Insurance, often called a COI, before beginning work or entering a property.

A certificate provides evidence of insurance in force at the time it is issued, but it does not itself change the policy or create coverage that the policy does not provide.

If a customer or contractor gives you specific insurance requirements, it is helpful to provide them to your agent before work begins so they can be reviewed.

Coverage After Previous Claims

A previous liability claim does not necessarily mean a business should stop looking for insurance options.

Crapo Insurance can work with businesses that have experienced recent claims.

Eligibility, premiums, deductibles, available limits, and policy terms depend upon the insurer and the individual business, but an independent agency can help review available markets.

Review Your Liability Coverage as the Business Changes

Liability exposures can change as a business grows.

It is worth reviewing coverage when you:

• add a new service
• begin selling a new product
• move or add locations
• hire employees
• use subcontractors
• take on larger projects
• begin working in new geographic areas
• enter contracts with new insurance requirements
• increase customer traffic
• acquire another business
• significantly increase revenue

Risk Management and Insurance Work Together

Insurance is only one part of protecting a business.

Good risk-management practices can reduce the likelihood of claims and may include maintaining safe premises, documenting procedures, training employees, reviewing contracts, maintaining equipment, and addressing hazards promptly.

The goal is to reduce risks where practical and use insurance to help protect against exposures that cannot reasonably be eliminated.

Flexible Payment Options

Crapo Insurance currently offers several payment arrangements depending upon the insurer and policy, including:

• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Semi-annual
• Annual

Available payment methods may include debit card, credit card, electronic check, or check by phone, depending upon the insurance company and policy.

Talk With a Local Independent Agent

If you operate a business in Terre Haute or the surrounding Wabash Valley, Crapo Insurance Agency can help you identify potential liability exposures and compare available general liability options.