Does General Liability Cover Fire Damage?
It can cover your legal liability for fire damage to someone else’s property, including limited rented-premises situations, but separate limits and exclusions may apply.
If your business is legally responsible for accidentally starting a fire that damages another party’s property, CGL may respond to covered property-damage liability. Damage to premises you rent has special treatment: the ISO specimen’s short-term rented-premises exception excludes fire damage from that particular exception, while separate wording addresses liability for fire damage to rented premises and a dedicated limit. A landlord’s lease can require a specific fire legal liability limit, but the contract does not itself broaden the insurance.
Fire damage to property your business owns is a first-party property question. Review the actual declarations for the damage-to-premises-rented limit, the fire legal liability terms, applicable deductibles, and any endorsements. Also check the lease and whether your business’s use or occupancy is accurately described. If your exposure involves hot work, cooking, or industrial processes, ask whether the quote contains activity-specific conditions or exclusions.
Related Coverage
Sources
- Commercial Insurance Guide. California Department of Insurance; Commercial General Liability; Commercial Automobile; Workers Compensation; Commercial Property. Accessed 2026-09-25.
- Commercial General Liability Coverage Form, CG 00 01 12 07. ISO; specimen hosted by Hiscox; Coverage A I.A pp.1–5; Coverage B I.B pp.6–7; Who Is An Insured II pp.9–10; Limits III p.10; Conditions IV pp.10–12; Definitions V pp.12–16. Accessed 2026-09-25.
