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Everything you need to know about Commercial General Liability Insurance
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Everything you need to know about Commercial General Liability Insurance
Even though it’s a rainy, cold morning, your regulars continue to buy their favourite coffee and pastries inside your convenience shop. You try to mop the floor dry on a regular basis because it’s always sticky from the heavy foot traffic, but a customer slips, falls, and breaks her arm. She’ll be filing a hefty injury claim against your business before you know it. Thankfully, you have commercial general liability (CGL) insurance, and the claim is free of charge. Even if your firm does not involve client interaction, CGL coverage is still required. Many small business owners, in fact, undervalue or misunderstand CGL insurance, which can be fatal to a company’s survival. The fundamentals of CGL insurance protection CGL insurance covers a wide range of incidents, which is why companies of all sizes and types should consider purchasing it. Injuries to the body and property damage For starters, it protects you from claims involving bodily harm or property damage caused by a third party who is not related or affiliated with you or your organisation (e.g., a client, visitor, or bystander in the region). Let’s say you’re in the tree-trimming industry. A homeowner has hired you to cut down some overgrown branches. Your customer’s roof is damaged when one of the enormous limbs falls. That amount will be covered by your CGL insurance.
Injuries to people and businesses Personal injury (such as defamation, libel, copyright infringement, wrongful eviction, and advertising infringement) and advertising injury are also covered by CGL insurance (such as losses and reputation damage suffered by a competitor that you criticise in an advertisement). Let’s say a competitor sues you, alleging that you stole its idea for a new product or service you just launched. The case goes to court, and you’ve found not guilty, but the legal fees are substantial then, CGL can help you. Fees charged by lawyers Your legal bills will also be covered by CGL. “Because of the comprehensive coverage, CGL plans frequently include defence costs and attorney’s fees, even if some claims aren’t covered.” Attorney’s costs for defending a case are well-known to be a potentially crippling expense. As a result, the CGL also provides extremely strong practical attorney’s fee coverage,” stated Munsch Hardt attorney Michael Huddleston.
What is the cost of CGL insurance? The cost of commercial general liability insurance is less expensive than many business owners believe. Premiums are typically less than $800 per year, and just about 13% of small firms pay more than $1,000 per year. “Your products or services must be priced high enough to meet the expense of insurance.” Remember that marketing and announcing that you are properly insured gives clients peace of mind in the event of a loss, and it boosts your business’sreputation,” stated Julie Jakubek, owner of an Allstate agency. That’s why she advises at least $1 million in liability coverage, which is the industry norm but isn’t much more than $300,000. “If your sales exceed $500,000, you should obtain larger coverage quantities,” Jakubek advised. “A separate business umbrella policy will give additional liability coverage above the main policy if you need it.” While CGL coverage can be purchased separately, keep in mind that it’s frequently bundled into a business owners policy (BOP), which typically bundles business personal property, business interruption, and liability coverage into a single policy that may be more cost-effective than purchasing these coverages separately. While the law does not force business owners to have CGL insurance, many clients and vendors may need this coverage in their contracts with you. The price of not having CGL coverage The lesson of the story is explained by Jesse Zook, owner of MaidPro Southeast Pennsylvania.
“Not having adequate general liability insurance exposes your company to catastrophic losses that could put your company out of business.” Sure, your company may be protected from personal financial losses because of its incorporation, but your investment in the business and corporate assets are still in danger,” Zook stated. If you’re a startup or a tiny business, you may believe you have little to lose and that the expense isn’t justified. “However, the cost of CGL insurance scales with the size of your organisation,” Zook explained, “and will likely be low for an early-stage company.” A CGL policy will pay for any property damage or bodily injury you cause to someone else. This is the lifeblood of business insurance, and every company requires it. When you initially read the declarations page of a CGL policy, it may appear like it can cover any issue that arises, but endorsements will limit this coverage. If you don’t read those endorsements carefully, you can end up with a policy that doesn’t effectively protect your company. If you have any issues regarding your CGL policy, or if the endorsements in your policy have left your business without property coverage, give us a call, and one of our specialists will review it.
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