General Liability Insurance

Backing up your business is essential; protecting your assets is the principal.
AT PBIB, we can SAVE YOU up to 40%!

Looking for cheap general liability insurance for contractors?
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What is General Liability Insurance?

General liability insurance, often called business liability insurance and commercial liability insurance, provides coverage for your business against claims of:

  • Bodily injury.
  • Property damage.
  • Personal and advertising injury.
  • Medical expenses.

What does a General Liability Insurance policy cover?

General liability insurance provides coverage to the insured for third-party “bodily injury” or “property damage” arising out of your operations, including defense and indemnity that the insured become legally obligated to pay. The policy also provides premises liability, fire damage to the insureds rented office (not your home).

Why you need General Liability Insurance?

General liability (GL) insurance (also known as small business liability insurance or commercial liability insurance) gives you the peace-of-mind that your business assets are protected against risks or unforeseen events. If a third party alleges property damage, injury, or bodily harm, you won’t have to worry about your construction business assets being depleted by medical bills, court costs, settlements, or judgements.

In the high-risk construction industry, safety and protection are part of the job. General liability insurance for roofing contractors is one way you can protect your business and keep your assets where you want them. You work hard to build your business. General liability insurance for electrical contractors works hard to protect it.

This section explains what our Business General Liability Insurance for general contractors offers. You should consider General Liability Insurance Coverage if you or your employees:

  • Interact with clients face to face – If you visit a client’s place of work, or clients visit yours.
  • Have access to a customer’s property.
    • If a customer’s home or property is damaged, GL could cover the cost to repair or replace it.
  • Are required to have general liability insurance for electrical contractors before entering into a contract.

Typical General Liability Coverage for Contractors:

General Liability:

Worker's Compensation:

Commercial Auto:

Tools & Equipment:

Excess Liability:

Notes*

  1. Tools and Equipment limits should be adjusted to the actual value of the Tools and Equipment owned, leased, or rented by the Contractor.
  2. Excess Liability should be considered for exposures to loss that exceed $1,000,000, or contractual requirements dictate the amount of excess liability must be carried.
  3. Professional Liability is usually not needed unless the GC is performing Design-Build, Construction Management, or other consulting services.

What is covered?

  • Bodily Injury.
  • Damage to third party property.
    Personal injury.
  • Advertising injury.
  • Medical expenses.
  • Defense costs (On Covered Claims).
  • Actions of your employees.

What is not covered?

  • Your property, injury to you or your employees.
  • Professional services.
  • Workers’ compensation.
  • Intent to injure.
  • Coverage outside the policy period.
  • Known claims prior to the start of the policy.

Optional Coverages:

Some small contractor insurance programs may exclude certain coverage listed below. If these coverages are needed, they can be purchased through broad form policies, usually at a higher cost.

  • Contractual Liability.
  • Prior Work.
  • Uninsured subcontractor coverage.

How to pick the right GL Policy for you?

  • There are two types of policies, ISO and Manuscript. The ISO policy is a standard form policy, so the coverage of the policy is known. Though it is important to read your policy and endorsements, it is the endorsement that must be carefully read. The Manuscript policy is written by the insurance carrier, so you and your broker must read it cover to understand the coverages.
  • We are Insurance Brokers at PBIB, that means we select from a large pool of insurance carriers to find the best policy that best fits your needs. If you go to an Agent of an Insurance Carrier, the agent must select the one policy the carrier has for you. Another mistake is purchasing an online policy, who read that policy for you to determine if the coverage is proper for your company? The answer is no one read the policy.
  • There is no substitute for experience, so if you’re trying to find the best possible general liability coverage on your Location, you have come to the right place! Place your business in the capable hands of Pascal Burke Insurance Brokerage today!

There are some policies that exclude coverage..

  • Based upon your trade certain endorsement can be critical, each trade has its own requirements and there are coverages that must be considered, too many to mention here.
  • In an example, Roofers all need open roof coverage and some need coverage for Hot Work applications.

General Liability Insurance coverage does vary by Profession, Location and Limits.

The location and business trade plays a role in the cost of your general liability policy. If you do business in an area where the risk is greater, you may be able to manage your costs by adjusting your limits to reflect your actual need. For example, a roofing company will do higher-risk projects than say a handyman. Quotes will vary by business depending on the trade, the size of the business, the state your business is located in, and the limits/deductibles selected. A commercial property policy is purchased to cover damage to the contractor’s own buildings, office contents, and most other personal property that it owns. A commercial property policy can also cover loss of income or increase in expenses that result from insured damage.

How to Successfully Manage your Subcontractors

How to make sure that your subcontractors claims stay with your subcontractors do not hit your General Liability policy and drive your rates sky-high?

Collect from each subcontractor prior to the subcontractor commencing work, the following:

  • A Certificate of Insurance listing all policies.
  • Subcontractors Agreement that includes the following:
  • General Liability Insurance:
    Limits of Liability:
    • $1,000,000 per Occurrence.
    • $2,000,000 General Aggregate.
    • $2,000,000 Aggregate for Products-Completed Operations.
    • $1,000,000 Personal & Advertising injury.
  • Endorsements: (Or equivalent endorsements).
    • Additional Insured – Ongoing Operations (CG2010).
    • Primary and Noncontributory – Blanket (CG2001).
    • Waiver of Subrogation (CG2404).
  • The subcontractor agreement that includes insurance requirements and a Hold Harmless Clause that holds you harmless to the fullest extent permitted by law, including defense and all legal fees for the work performed by your subcontractors on your behalf.
  • All subcontractor documentation should be kept for a period of 10 years.