Bodily injury | Personal injury | Derogatory comments (slander, defamation) | Trips and falls | Negligence | Lawsuits | Property damages incurred by 3 parties | Product liability
General liability is a broad commercial policy that covers general liability exposures of a business. Coverage typically includes product liability, completed operations, premises and operations, and personal and advertising injury. We recommend that all businesses have general liability coverage in place.
Bodily injuries, property damages created by 3rd parties, unfortunately, do happen, even to the most cautious business and property owners, and can result in costly lawsuits.
Commercial general liability insurance usually helps cover lawyer fees, court expenses, damages to properties belonging to third parties, and medical costs for people injured on your property. General liability also covers other common lawsuits. Businesses and property owners can tailor policies to fit their needs by choosing more or less coverage, different deductibles and varying dollar limits of coverage.
Slip-and-fall accidents are the most common examples of bodily injury negligence claims. The law requires businesses operate in safe and careful manners. If a business carelessly causes bodily injury, it may face a negligence lawsuit.
A person walking up a ramp at a restaurant which was not well lit or marked, the claimant fell causing bodily injury. The carrier paid $50,000.
A woman slipped on a raised portion of sidewalk at a business premises, fell down and broke one of her legs also incurring a spinal injury – This claim for bodily injury was $50,000.
A woman fell in a parking lot when she tripped over a wheel stop. She broke her arm and caused damage to her rotator cuff resulting in a $60,000 claim.
A man tripped over a rug in an office, fell and broke his leg resulting in a $15,000 bodily injury pay out.
A Tenant came to her rental home and she slipped on the balcony which fractured her wrist and caused injury to her leg. She sued the landlord for the resulting bodily injury claim was $30,000.
A produce delivery man slipped on the wet floor of a freshly mopped kitchen where there was no warning sign for the slippery conditions. He slipped and tore a tendon in his knee and needed to get surgery to treat the injury. He sued the restaurant for $200,000 in medical costs, lost wages, which were covered under commercial general liability insurance taken out by the restaurant.
When property is damaged or destroyed because of a company’s negligence, the company at fault is vulnerable for lawsuit for the damages. Here are some examples:
A contractor was working on a renovation project and accidentally caused significant damage to a wall leaving it exposed to the outdoors. The owners sued for $125,000 to cover the cost of repair.
A contractor was installing a new kitchen in a duplex. He forgot to shut off the water and flooded the entire kitchen. The water seeped through the floors into the basement. The homeowner sued for $200,000 in damages to her home.
A truck driver accidentally ran into the building of the restaurant that he was delivering produce to and caused severe property damage to the brick and masonry. The restaurant sued the truck driver $350,000 for replacement costs from the damage.
An office building owner kept a dog in the hotel lobby. The dog bit a small child in the face. A $50,000 bodily injury claim resulted.
Apartment owner had a fence around the pool which was poorly maintained and a young child got through a hole in the fence and went into the pool and drowned. The liability payout was the policy limit of $300,000. The rest of the $2 million claim was paid out of the owner’s pocket.
Business and property owners who got sued and had a happy ending all took out commercial insurance that protected them. They filed a claim with insurance brokers like us, and we were able to cover the incidents. The cost to each was only a fraction of the claimed amount. They paid their deductible and no permanent financial damages incurred.
But for those who did not have insurance protection, they had to go through a major financial setback, some even ended up in bankruptcy.
General liability insurance provides a safety net to protect your business in the event of an unforeseeable event. Like most of your safety equipment, chances are that it may never be needed. But when (not if) something goes wrong, you’re protected.
Running a business is challenging enough without having to worry about lawsuits, customer injuries, or property damages. General liability insurance can help cover the costs of various lawsuits including attorney’s fees, court costs and settlements in situations like the above examples. We understand that every business is unique and may need different coverage to suit their needs. Let us help you find the perfect policy that fits your budget and covers your business’ specific needs, to give you the peace of mind to focus on running your business.