What Is General Liability Insurance And How To Get It

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If you think these accidents are unlikely for a small business, Insureon’s study should change your mind. According to them, one in three small businesses faced top hazards in the previous years. So what should a small business (or any business for that matter) do?

Simple, get general liability insurance or professional liability insurance!

But what exactly are general insurance and professional liability insurance? Which one’s right for you? Is it going to benefit you? And lastly, how do you get one?

Types of Liability Insurance

Before you learn what general liability insurance is and how to get it, you must know that there are three main types of liability insurance coverage:
  • Professional liability
  • Employer liability
  • General liability
What is a General Liability Insurance?

A General Liability Insurance is a policy that can provide financial protection if you are held accountable for common accidents occurring at a business, such as a customer getting injured. It also provides coverage if you are forced to defend defamation from unhappy customers.

General liability insurance covers risks no matter what industry your business is a part of. It’s also the most popular choice for small businesses and self-employed professionals. Typically, it’s the first policy purchased by a new business.

What it Covers

General liability insurance helps cover costly claims that can crop up without warning during a regular day of business operations. Not being covered means you would have to cover these costs out of your pocket. Unfortunately, not many businesses have the resources to do that.

General liability insurance protects policyholders from unpredicted expenses related to many common accidents that can affect your business negatively and lead to lawsuits:
  • Injuries to people on-premises
  • Damage to someone else's property
  • Libel or slander accusations
Other third-party claims against your business that are covered include:

Third-party physical injury: A customer can sue your business for getting hurt by slipping and falling on your store’s staircase. Since your insurance policy includes bodily injury liability coverage, it can help pay for their medical bills.

Third-party property damage: If you or your employees work at a customer’s house, your business faces the risk of causing damage to their property. Property damage liability coverage covers repair or replacement costs in such an event.

Reputation harm: Someone can sue your business for accusations of copyright infringement. If this happens, general liability insurance helps bear the legal costs to defend your business.

Advertising injury: Your business can get sued for publishing an ad that belittles another company, damaging its reputation. General liability insurance automatically covers most advertising injuries.

What it Doesn’t Cover

General liability insurance doesn’t cover every claim. For instance, it doesn’t help your business deal with claims of:

Work-related injuries or illnesses sustained by employees
A workers’ compensation insurance covers such an event. This insurance helps pay for their medical expenses and other costs that would otherwise be incurred by your business.

Damage to your business property
Though general liability insurance covers third-party property damage, it doesn’t cover damage to your business property. However, commercial property insurance can help cover damages to your business property.

Mistakes made in your business’ professional services
As said earlier, the professional services that your business offers are covered by professional liability insurance. This means a General Liability Insurance policy doesn’t cover claims regarding your professional services.

Other instances where a GLI doesn’t cover your business are:

  • Employment conflicts
  • Damage to business vehicles
  • Medical expenses related to automobile accidents
  • Professional errors & omissions
  • Cyberattacks or identity theft
  • Business interruptions caused by a natural disaster
  • Business interruptions caused by employee sickness
  • How are General Liability Insurance and Professional Liability Insurance different?
  • As a business owner, it can be a daunting task to figure out which liability insurance you need. The right policies depend on the kinds of risks your company encounters.
Both, big and small businesses face liability risks, but the type of liability can vary based on what you do. For example, a contractor may be liable if their construction injures someone, whereas a consultation might be liable if a client faces financial losses due to their advice.

Both of these situations can lead to a lawsuit. But it’s also where general liability insurance and professional liability insurance differ.

General liability insurance and professional liability insurance differ in the types of risks each cover.

General liability covers physical risks, like in the case of construction injuries. Professional liability covers abstract risks, such as errors and omissions in the services, as a consultancy could.


Factors Affecting General Liability Insurance Cost
General liability insurance cost is based on the following factors:
  1. How much coverage is required
  2. Number of employees being covered
  3. Risk exposure: If your business is in a high-risk industry, the general liability insurance cost is higher
  4. Location: Populated area can increase the risk of claims, which can impact the cost of your GLI
  5. Years in business: Startups or small businesses don’t have as much experience as corporations, which can increase insurance rates
  6. Type of business: A risk-prone business can increase costs due to the increased likeliness of filing claims
  7. Coverage limits: The policy limit amount and deductible picked can affect insurance costs
  8. Claims history: A clean history portrays safer risk management strategies to prevent bodily injury, lowering your small business insurance cost.

How Much Does a General Liability Insurance Cost?

General liability insurance costs about $42 per month. This is based on the average cost of policies from popular insurance providers.

General liability insurance usually costs $30 a month or less based on a study on 50,000 small businesses by Hiscox. They also claim that 95% of the small business owners pay less than $50 per month for general liability insurance, and only 1% of small businesses pay more than $100 per month.

We can guarantee a much better rate for your General Liability Insurance at stpbrokerage.

Which General Liability Insurance Is Right for You and How to Get It

Every Insurance provider boasts about having the most affordable pricing.

However, you never truly know which one is cut out for your needs. That’s why you need to compare their quotes.

This can be a daunting task, but with our ‘get a quote,’ you can effectively compare multiple insurance providers online and get the best price within seconds.

Even though every business is unique, every business can benefit from general liability coverage. Customize your policy to fit your business needs so you get the range that is right for your business.

If you want to get a general liability insurance quote through our automated tool that compares multiple quotes and arrives at the most affordable and trustable source, try it out at stpbrokerage!
 
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