General Liability Insurance
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance covers third-party claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal/advertising injury arising from business operations.
Overview
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance is the most fundamental type of business insurance and the most commonly required coverage on a Certificate of Insurance. It protects businesses against third-party claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal/advertising injury.
What It Covers
CGL policies typically cover three main categories:
- Bodily Injury: Physical harm to a third party caused by your operations. Example: a visitor trips over equipment at your job site.
- Property Damage: Damage to someone else's property caused by your work. Example: a painting contractor spills paint on a tenant's carpet.
- Personal and Advertising Injury: Non-physical harms such as defamation, slander, copyright infringement, or wrongful eviction.
Common Limits
CGL policies have several limit categories:
| Limit Type | Typical Requirement |
|---|---|
| Each Occurrence | $1,000,000 |
| General Aggregate | $2,000,000 |
| Products-Completed Ops Aggregate | $2,000,000 |
| Personal & Advertising Injury | $1,000,000 |
| Damage to Rented Premises | $100,000 |
| Medical Expense (Any One Person) | $5,000 |
On the ACORD 25
General Liability appears in the first row of the coverage grid on the ACORD 25 form. Key fields to verify include the policy number, effective/expiration dates, occurrence/aggregate limits, and whether the policy is claims-made or occurrence-based.
Example
A janitorial company carries a CGL policy with $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate limits. While cleaning an office building, an employee accidentally breaks a server rack, causing $50,000 in damage. The CGL policy covers the property damage claim up to the per-occurrence limit.
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