{"id":1040045,"date":"2022-08-04T02:20:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T06:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1040045"},"modified":"2022-08-04T02:20:56","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T06:20:56","slug":"why-small-businesses-need-commercial-general-liability-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=1040045","title":{"rendered":"Why Small Businesses Need Commercial General Liability Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Umbrella<\/div>\n

Honesty is the best policy in business and in life. Commercial general liability insurance is the policy a small business needs to protect the business and its owners, their achievements, and wealth in an increasingly litigious society, advises Toronto-based insurtech co-founder, advisor, and early\/emerging stage investor Neil Mitchell.<\/p>\n

For many small business owners, the purchase of commercial liability insurance is considered a \u201cgrudge\u201d purchase. It is often seen as a necessary evil, a cost of doing business, with little associated value other than to meet insurance requirements imposed on them by financial lenders, landlords, licensing boards, regulators, governments, clients, and other third parties.<\/p>\n

Despite it being a \u201cnuisance\u201d expense, commercial general liability insurance provides valuable financial protection to the balance sheet and income statement of a small business. By paying an insurance premium, a known and fixed cost today, small business owners protect themselves against unknown costs that may arise from future and potentially catastrophic events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith small businesses, the personal wealth of the business owner is on the line when the business is sued for alleged bodily injuries and property damage,\u201d says Mitchell. \u201cThe insurance purchase affords the small business access to an insurer\u2019s financial resources to pay claims that would otherwise cause significant financial strain to a small business and its owner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legal claims arising out of bodily injuries to a third party caused by the operations of a small business are covered by a commercial general liability insurance policy. A familiar illustration would be the payment of a customer\u2019s medical expenses if the customer is injured on the property of a small business. If that customer also sues the small business, the commercial general liability insurance would also pay defense costs and any associated legal settlement.<\/p>\n

In addition to bodily injury claims, commercial general liability insurance covers a small business owner against third-party claims for property damage. A property damage liability claim could be caused by an employee damaging a customer\u2019s laptop, or an outdoor sign falling on a customer\u2019s SUV. If a customer\u2019s property is damaged because of the operations of a small business, the customer can make a claim and the commercial general liability insurance will cover it. For a small business that leases business space, their commercial general liability insurance generally also covers damage to the leased space caused by fire, water damage or severe weather.<\/p>\n

Commercial general liability policies often apply to certain claim situations you might not expect, says Mitchell, such as advertising claims. Many commercial general liability insurance policies offer advertising injury coverage, which can help pay for your legal expenses when you\u2019re accused of advertising wrongs.<\/p>\n

Most advertising injury claims are brought against a business by a competitor. For example, a small business that owns a small chain of beauty salons creates a print ad that contains a photo of one of their customers. They did not obtain permission from the customer to use their photo and the customer sues the small business operator for violating their privacy.<\/p>\n

Conversely, commercial general liability insurance policies exclude many other types of claims. For example, in the case of an employee who sues a small business for an on-the-job injury, a commercial general liability policy would not pay claims for damages. Commercial general liability insurance does not cover workplace injuries that happen to employees or other people on the small business payroll. Instead, workplace injuries are covered by workers\u2019 compensation insurance.<\/p>\n

Commercial general liability insurance for small businesses does NOT provide coverage for circumstances such as:<\/p>\n