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LIABILITY INSURANCE

General liability insurance (GL) is coverage that can protect you from a variety of claims including bodily injury, property damage, personal injury and others that can arise from your business operations. There are several different types of insurance coverage for businesses, and although you may not need all of them (an e-commerce business probably doesn’t need insurance for heavy machinery, for example), there are a few that every business owner should research and invest in. General liability is perhaps the most important type of insurance — to protect against accidents, injury and negligence claims — but product liability, professional liability and commercial property insurance can also come in handy. Depending on how many people you have on staff, you may also want to consider workers’ compensation and unemployment policies. Some examples of what could be covered are below:

• Bodily injury :A client falls over your bag and you are legally liable for the injury. We will cover the subsequent claim and related medical expenses up to your General Liability policy’s limits of liability.
   

• Property damage and data loss : You spill coffee on a client’s server causing damage and loss of data. We will cover the subsequent claim up to your General Liability policy’s limits of liability.
   

• Personal injury : One of your employees is at lunch. He talks to the owner of the shop about one of your clients in a false and unflattering way. The client learns of this discussion and sues for slander. We will cover the subsequent claim, up to your General Liability policy’s limits of liability, and pay for an attorney to defend you if necessary.
   

• Advertising errors – Helps protect against certain claims your business if others claim you infringed on their copyrights when advertising goods, products, or services in your advertisement.
   

• Medical payments – Helps protect against certain claims medical costs if someone is injured on business premises and needs medical treatment.
   

• Damage to premises rented to you – Helps protect against certain claims businesses for damage to premises rented to you due to fire, lightning or explosion.

Who Needs General Liability Insurance?

As a contractor or small business owner, you need some form of general liability insurance to safeguard your livelihood. A single accident could result in a lawsuit that you might not be able to handle. A great way to protect against this type of situation is to make sure you carry enough general liability insurance. Some employers might also require you to carry a certain amount of general liability insurance before you can work for them.

Here are five free sites for comparing small business insurance quotes:

• CommercialInsurance.net:This company offers to build a custom insurance plan for your business, whether you need commercial property and vehicle insurance or just a general liability policy. If it doesn’t offer what you need, CommercialInsurance.net will locate an insurance group for you to cover what it doesn’t.
   

• Insureon: Also known as Business Insurance Now, this site allows you to search for insurance quotes by specific industry and business type. You can also live chat with a specialist to find policies that match your specific business needs.
   

• InsWeb: At InsWeb, you’ll find quotes from the top insurance providers in your local area for property, liability, workers’ compensation and commercial auto coverage. The site also features a Business Insurance Learning Center to help you find answers to common insurance questions.
   

• NetQuote: Based on your business’s location, number of full- and part-time employees, and whether you have an existing policy, NetQuote pulls up quotes for a wide array of business insurance policies from top agencies near you. If you want to learn more about a specific type of insurance, you can read one of the site’s reference articles.
   

• Progressive: This company doesn’t just help you find the best home and auto insurance rates, but also offers comparisons for general liability, business owners’ policies (BOPs), commercial vehicle insurance and workers’ compensation.

Policies for General Liability are coverage affordable, however your quotes will depend on the size and type of your business, where your operation is located, your previous claims history and loss experience among other factors. Coverage is typically capped at a specific dollar amount for your policy period. That’s why it’s important to fully assess your risk exposure and purchase a policy that will best protect you.