Whether you specialize in construction, plumbing, electrical work, or any other trade, there is potential for you to cause some damage on the job site. This is what General Liability Insurance is for. GL insurance protects you and your business from financial losses due to claims of bodily injury or property damage caused by you or your employees on the jobsite. It is also common that a Sub Contractor that you have on the jobsite could cause some damage. We’ll cover this more in depth in our next blog.
CGL Insurance
What Does General Liability Insurance Cover? CGL insurance is designed to cover the costs of claims and lawsuits arising from incidents such as:
Bodily Injury: If someone is injured during the course of your work, CGL can cover medical expenses, legal fees, and damages awarded.
Property Damage: Coverage for damages to property that occur as a result of your work. Accidents happen on the jobsite all the time. When you are working with heavy equipment, digging, working on ladders, working in awkward positions, it is easy for accidents to happen.
Let’s use plumbing as an example. Let’s say there is a plumber working in a residential home. While replacing a pipe, our plumber accidentally breaks the main water line, causing significant water damage to the homeowner’s newly renovated kitchen. In this case, our plumbers CGL insurance would cover the costs of the damage, including repairs to the kitchen. Without General Liability Insurance, our plumber would be paying this out of pocket. For contractors in general, there significant risks on a job site. Protecting yourself and your business with liability insurance will help protect your financial well being. It will also be required of you as the contractor to get carry General Liability insurance to be hired by someone else.
Personal & Advertising Injury
This coverage protects your business against lawsuits for offenses like slander, libel, and privacy invasion, which can occur even through business advertisements.
Medical Payments
This segment offers a quick payout for minor injuries incurred by a third party on your business premises or through your business operations, regardless of fault. For instance, if a visitor to the job site slips on wet flooring due to the broken pipe, this coverage can handle their immediate medical costs.
Products and Completed Operations
This insurance is crucial once a job is completed. For the plumber, if issues arise later due to the work done (e.g., a poorly installed pipe bursts weeks later), this coverage can handle claims related to property damage or injuries caused by the completed work.
Damage to Premises Rented to You
Often overlooked, this coverage is essential if you rent a space, like an office or warehouse. It covers damage to properties you rent, like fire damage caused by your operations.
Why Contractors Needs GL Insurance
General Liability insurance isn’t a box that you check off because you were asked to do so as a contractor. It is an essential piece of your business that can help protect you financially. The idea of insurance is to protect you from the loss that you can’t afford. Accidently cause a fire while working on a home. You might not be able to afford that damage and legal liability requirement out of pocket. This is what General Liability Insurance is for. Physical and Liability risks are a daily part of your job. Protect your customer, yourself and your business with General Liability Insurance.