Navigating through contract requirements, lease requirements, or simply making the right business decision on what type of liability coverage to purchase can be confusing.
This is where Insurance Canopy comes in–we can walk you through the insurance buying process and help you decide which liability coverage you need to make sure you are covered properly. Today we’ll break down the difference between general liability insurance and professional liability insurance.
WHAT IS GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
General Liability Insurance, also known as CGL or Commercial General Liability, protects your business from suits and claims against your business for bodily injury and/or property damage. The most common CGL claim is a “slip and fall” where a third party or customer is injured on your premises. CGL policies are also a convenient policy to find and purchase Product Liability Insurance which protects your business from suits and claims for bodily injury and/or property damage from the products you manufacture, distribute, or sell. CGL policies are designed with Occurrence Limits and Aggregate Limits and sometimes include a deductible. The Occurrence Limit is the per claim limit and the aggregate limit is the total amount the carrier is willing to pay for a given policy term.
WHAT IS PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
Also referred to as Errors & Omissions (E&O), Professional Liability covers negligence related to Professional Services or Advice provided by your business. Professional Liability generally covers financial losses versus physical losses which are covered by the CGL policy. As an example, if your business provides advice to its customers and that advice causes your customers to have adverse results and financial loss, Professional Liability can cover it. Not only is poor Advice covered but so is the failure to provide advice or omission is covered. The failure to do what you are trusted, qualified, and hired to do can cause a Professional Liability claim. For a claim under a professional liability policy to be determined compensable, there needs to be an adverse result or usually a financial loss to the customer for the claim to be valid.
SO WHICH LIABILITY COVERAGE DO YOU NEED?
The answer is unique to every business and sometimes you need both. Commercial General Liability and Professional Liability policies can be purchased in tandem through one carrier or sometimes written separately and with different carriers.
Our dedicated agents can help you determine what coverages you need, answer your questions, and help you secure the proper coverage for your business.
Protect your business against liability claims today. Talk to an agent at 888.600.0894 or get a free quote today.
