Why Buy General Liability Insurance?

As a small business owner, general liability insurance may protect your company when the unexpected occurs. Liability insurance (also known as commercial general business liability insurance) covers a variety of situations, including injury or damage that occur on your property or that are caused by you or your employees. It can also cover costs associated with being sued, including legal fees or settlements. It would also cover claims of false advertising, libel, slander or copyright infringement. Regardless of whether you win or lose, such lawsuits can be extremely costly and time-consuming, taking your focus away from generating revenue. This can be devastating for a small business, so business liability insurance is extremely beneficial to your operation. It would not be reasonable to operate an uninsured business; in this day and age with all the modern day risks, an insured business owner can  focus on running his or her business even when faced with a claim of damage, injury or negligence.

Type of Business

Each business and industry is quite different; insurance contracts are designed to provide coverage for risks typical to each type of business. Insurance carriers will generally insure business types which they are familiar with and comfortable providing coverage.

In general, many typical businesses which are more commonplace may fit into the realm of a Business Owner’s Package (BOP). BOPs are designed to provide coverage for well known types of businesses; thus, businesses that qualify under a BOP program will be offered the lowest premium rates rather than the alternative large Commercial Insurance Policies.

An example of a more high risk industry may be an Auto Repair Facility, a Manufacturing Plant or a Roofing Company; these business will usually be underwritten on a standard Commercial Form and these businesses would purchase only the section that applies to them.

 Small Business Coverage

The primary section of a Business Owners Package would be General Liability Insurance; it is commonplace to find limits of $1 Million per occurrence with $2 Million aggregate coverage for these typical insurance policies. Similarly, landlords will most commonly require the business to carry a minimum of $1 Million General Liability before leasing a commercial location or office.

Business Owners Packages will also allow the inclusion of Business Personal Property which may include Furniture, Fixtures, Business Equipment and Inventory. In addition, if the business happens to own the office location, Building coverage would also be an available option.

Since Commercial Coverage is much more customizable than Personal Lines products, it is important to speak with a licensed representative and find out about all the options and whether or not they will apply to your business enterprise and/or if you wish to pay any additional premium for any of the available options.