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What Is General Liability Insurance?

General liability can protect your business when a customer or visitor claims you caused injury or damaged their property. It suits businesses serving customers or working on their premises; your own building, tools and stock need property coverage.

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What Does General Liability Insurance Cover?

A visitor’s injury, damage at a customer site or a claim about completed work can each trigger a liability demand. 2

General liability can help protect your business from covered claims for injury to others, damage to their property and specified personal or advertising injuries. 1

Injury and Property Damage

Check claims tied to your premises, work at other locations, products and completed work. 2

Personal and Advertising Injury

Personal and advertising injury covers specified offenses such as libel or slander; it does not promise coverage for every marketing dispute. 1,3

Medical Payments

Medical-payments coverage can address specified smaller injury expenses without first establishing legal fault; compare it separately from liability damages. 1

Who Needs General Liability Insurance?

Consider general liability if you welcome visitors, work at customer sites, sell products or have a lease or contract requiring liability insurance. 2 2

General Liability Insurance Coverage Examples

What happened

A Visitor Trips in Your Office

A delivery driver trips over a loose cable in reception and asks your business to pay for the injury.

How coverage may help

General liability may cover the injury claim and its defense. Medical payments, if included, can address certain smaller injury expenses without first establishing fault. 1,2,3

What happened

A Competitor Challenges Your Ad

A competitor says your campaign copied its advertising idea and sends a demand letter.

How coverage may help

Personal and advertising injury coverage applies to specified offenses. It may help with the claim, but it doesn't cover every marketing or intellectual-property dispute. 1,3

How Do You Compare General Liability Insurance Coverage and Costs?

Defense and Limits

Check the insurer’s duty to defend your business and whether defense expenses reduce the available limit. 3 Compare the per-occurrence limit, general aggregate and products/completed-operations aggregate. 3
Comparison pointAsk the insurer
Per-occurrence limitHow much can the policy pay for one incident?
General aggregateWhat is the total limit for covered claims in the policy period?
Products/completed-operations aggregateWhat limit applies to claims after products leave your possession or work is complete?
DefenseDoes the insurer defend your business, and do defense costs reduce these limits?
3 3

Work, Products and Property in Your Care

Coverage for damage to someone else's property doesn't settle every repair bill. Damage to the item you're working on, your own finished work or your own product can be treated differently. A repair shop should describe customers' equipment left in its care, as well as its work at customer sites. 3

Timing and Insured Entities

Check when injury or damage must occur and how to report an incident or claim. 3 Confirm which businesses and people the policy insures, especially after you add an entity or change operations. 3

Other Exposures Beyond Premises Liability

Discuss auto, employee-injury, pollution and alcohol-related exposures separately from ordinary premises liability. 3

How Does General Liability Insurance Compare With Related Coverage?

Property Packages

A business owners policy combines liability with property protection; general liability alone does not insure your own building or equipment. 1,2

Professional Services

Separate injury or property-damage exposures from allegations that professional advice or services caused a client financial loss. 1

What Do You Need for General Liability Insurance Quotes?

Operations and Existing Coverage

Prepare your operations, locations, products and work away from your premises, along with current policy information. 2

Exposure Measures

Have sales, payroll or floor-area information ready and ask which measure the insurer uses to price your business. 2
PrepareAsk the broker
Locations and workWhich premises and off-site work does the quote include?
Products and completed workHow does the quote treat products you sell and work finished at client sites?
Current liability policyHow do the proposed limits, insureds and exclusions differ?
Sales, payroll or floor areaWhich exposure measure does the insurer use to price your policy?
2 2

General Liability Insurance: Key Terms in Plain English

Per-Occurrence Limit

The limit that applies to one covered occurrence; compare it with the aggregate available across claims. 3

General Liability Insurance: A Policy Example to Compare

See Corgi's guide for an example of one provider's coverage terms and optional extensions.

Frequently Asked Questions About General Liability Insurance

Does General Liability Cover My Own Equipment?

No. General liability alone doesn't insure your own building or equipment. Property coverage, including the property part of a BOP, addresses those assets. 1,2

Does It Cover Mistakes in Professional Advice?

A client's financial loss from professional advice belongs in a professional-liability review. General liability for injury or property damage doesn't settle that exposure. 1

Does General Liability Insurance Cover Libel or Slander?

Specified personal and advertising injuries can include libel or slander. That does not mean every advertising or marketing dispute is covered; check the offenses and exclusions in the policy. 1,3

Does General Liability Cover Advertising Injury?

Sometimes. It covers listed advertising offenses, such as libel or copying someone's slogan in your ad, but not claims that your ads overstated your products or prices.

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Does General Liability Cover Bodily Injury and Customer Injuries?

Yes, when a customer or visitor is accidentally hurt and your business is liable; medical payments coverage can also pay their medical bills regardless of fault.

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Does General Liability Cover Business Property?

No. General liability pays for damage you cause to other people's property, not your own building, inventory, or equipment; commercial property insurance covers those.

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Does General Liability Cover Company Vehicles?

No. General liability excludes accidents involving vehicles your business owns or uses; you need a commercial auto policy for company vehicles and drivers.

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Does General Liability Cover Completed Operations?

Yes. Standard general liability covers injury or damage your finished work causes after handover, under a separate completed-operations limit, but not the cost of fixing your own work.

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Does General Liability Cover Construction Defects?

Not for the cost to repair defective work itself; CGL may cover a separate covered injury or damage to other property.

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Does General Liability Cover Damage to Rented Property or Premises?

CGL may cover limited damage to rented premises under a separate limit; the amount may not meet your lease obligation.

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Does General Liability Cover Data Breaches?

Usually no for breach-response costs or lost electronic data; a privacy offense provision is not comprehensive cyber coverage.

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View all 51 questions

What Coverage Is Related to General Liability Insurance?

  • What Is a Business Owner’s Policy?

    A BOP may suit an eligible small business that wants property, liability and lost-income protection together. If you also need auto, workers’ compensation or professional liability, plan for separate coverage.

  • What Is Professional Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance?

    Professional liability can help pay defense costs and covered losses when a client says your advice or service caused financial harm. If customers rely on your work, list every service you provide and check the claims-made reporting and prior-work terms.

  • What Is Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?

    Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA) liability protects the business when rented cars or employees’ own cars are used for work. It does not pay for damage to those vehicles, and it is not a substitute for commercial auto on vehicles the business owns.

General Liability Insurance Guides by State

Which Insurance Providers Offer General Liability Insurance?

  • AIG

    AIG Programs general liability (three separate program scopes)

  • Alliance Risk

    Alliance Risk arranges general liability insurance.

  • Amelia Risk

    Amelia Risk arranges general liability insurance.

  • Aon

    Aon lists general liability within construction liability coverage areas in its global construction practice; this does not establish a standalone or U.S.-available line.

  • Beazley

    Beazley offers general liability insurance in packages such as its environmental-services policy.

  • Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

    BHSI lists primary general liability, with contractor and pollution features described in its casualty materials.

  • biBerk

  • CFC

    CFC offers general liability within its property and casualty product.

  • Chubb

    Chubb offers general liability insurance within its commercial package products.

  • CNA

  • Corgi

    Corgi lists commercial general liability among its business insurance offerings.

  • Coterie Insurance

    Coterie offers general liability policies for small businesses through its partner distribution.

  • Counterpart

    GL is described as a companion/package component with miscellaneous professional and lawyers liability; this does not establish broad standalone CGL.

  • Coverdash

    Coverdash lists general liability in its Core Business coverage catalog with a quote route.

  • Embroker

    Embroker offers a general liability quote route among its individual business coverages.

  • ERGO NEXT Insurance

    ERGO NEXT offers online general liability quotes and purchasing for eligible businesses.

  • Founder Shield

    Founder Shield lists general liability among its core coverage offerings.

  • Foxquilt

    Company CGL product page; line-specific CGL membership only.

  • Gallagher

    Gallagher arranges general liability insurance for small businesses.

  • Harper

    Harper lists general liability in its business-insurance services and quote inquiry.

  • Heffernan Insurance Brokers

    Heffernan arranges general liability insurance.

  • Hiscox

    Hiscox offers general liability insurance for small businesses.

  • HUB International

    HUB International arranges general liability insurance.

  • Insureon

    Insureon markets General Liability; description does not establish insurer, policy terms, or individual availability.

  • Kinro

    Kinro lists general liability and compares available carrier options.

  • Liberty Mutual

    A group brand spanning personal and commercial insurance businesses; its business unit pages describe small-commercial cover for small businesses and commercial, specialty, surety, and reinsurance solutions for mid-size and large businesses.

  • Lockton

    Lockton arranges general liability insurance.

  • Markel Insurance

    Markel small-business casualty and property

  • Marsh

    Marsh arranges general liability insurance, including for data centers.

  • Marsh McLennan Agency

    Business insurance and employee health and benefits, with retirement, wealth, and private-client services also listed for the United States and Canada.

  • Mylo

    Mylo compares general liability quotes from insurance carriers and also offers package options.

  • Nationwide

    Nationwide lists general liability in its professional-office package description and BOP materials; this establishes marketing only, not standalone availability or policy scope.

  • Newfront

    Newfront includes general liability in its casualty placement services.

  • Pie Insurance

    Pie arranges general liability insurance through unaffiliated third-party insurers.

  • Relm Insurance

    Relm lists general liability insurance for placement through brokers.

  • RiskCube

    RiskCube arranges general liability insurance for startups.

  • Risklytics

    Risklytics arranges general liability insurance for robotics, hardware and AI businesses.

  • Simply Business

    Small businesses and solopreneurs seeking commercial insurance, as described by Simply Business.

  • StartupInsurance.ai

    StartupInsurance.ai arranges general liability insurance for startups.

  • TechInsurance

    TechInsurance arranges general liability insurance for small businesses.

  • The Baldwin Group

    Listed as general liability for professional-services clients and as a consideration for other named business sectors.

  • The Hartford

    The Hartford offers general liability insurance.

  • THREE by Berkshire Hathaway

    Marketed within THREE’s combined commercial policy; the quote and issued form determine the protection.

  • Travelers

    Travelers offers general liability insurance.

  • USI Insurance Services

    USI arranges general liability insurance.

  • Vouch

    Vouch lists general liability among the core coverages in its technology-company programs.

  • WithCoverage

    WithCoverage includes general liability in its insurance-program reviews, for example for construction and restaurant businesses.

  • Zurich U.S.

    Zurich’s U.S. catalogue describes commercial general liability protection for business bodily injury, property damage and personal injury claims.

Updated .

Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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