What is General Liability Insurance?

General liability insurance is intended to safeguard any type of business from large financial losses if there is a personal injury claim or property damage lawsuit. Whether or not your company is guilty of any wrongdoing, the cost to hire lawyers and defend your business can be expensive. The cost of legal defense is one thing that liability insurance will pay for.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you have, a general liability insurance policy can cover construction, counseling, medical, as well as insurance and real estate firms. Lawsuits against businesses occur all the time and for many reasons. Just some of the lawsuits that general liability insurance can protect you from include negligence, personal injury, and malpractice.

General Liability Insurance covers a wide variety of legal issues, including if someone is injured on your property or by a company vehicle, to property damage or harm caused by one of your employees to someone outside your organization.

If someone slips and falls in your store, or an employee knocks a hole in a client’s wall, the lawsuit for damages could bankrupt a company and run it out of business. General liability insurance will shield your business from lawsuits for damage, injury, or frivolous claims.

Getting the Best Price for General Liability Insurance

To find cheap general liability insurance it is important to do a little research to determine what policy limits and coverage details you need based on the type of business you have. Then when you shop for insurance you can compare the pricing from several companies for equivalent policies.

For instance, higher policy limits might be necessary for a medical professional than for someone in yard care. A contractor will need different coverage options than a dog groomer. So the first order of business in finding cheap general liability insurance is to establish exactly what you need, then get quotes.

General liability insurance typically covers almost any type of damage caused by you or your employees. While the coverage may be the same, the cost for the same insurance can vary quite a bit. One of the best places to find cheap general liability insurance is online. There are several services that allow business owners to multiple quotes by inputting the information once. These quotes will come from companies such as Nationwide, The Hartford, Allstate, as well as insurance agents based locally.

One such online general liability quote provider is NetQuote, The quotes are provided at no cost and without obligation.

Some of these online services will help you determine what type of coverage you should have and then quote the cheapest options. Typically a general liability insurance quote will include:

• Bodily or physical injury to an individual
• Damage to property
• Product liability
• Contractual liability as the business extends to an assortment of contracts for clients

General liability insurance can be extended to freelancers working for your organization, doctors who consult, and company directors or other officers of the company.

Next Steps for Getting Cheap General Liability Insurance

In order to get the best price and product for general liability insurance there are some general steps that you can take to insure you make the right choice for your business. These steps include:

• Check the Department of Insurance website for your state and get information on the top insurance carriers for general liability policies dealing with your industry. You can find the website by searching: State name Department of Insurance.
• Check out several online insurance brokers with an eye to those who provide quotes from the companies on the list generated from above. Check the about tab for the brokers and read about their general experience, the experience in your industry, and their education. Search the internet for reviews on the online broker.
• Reduce your list to five to seven insurance providers that you want quotes from. Use one or more online brokers to get a prices quote on the same policy limits and coverage for the insurance companies on your list. Using the internet will cut down on time and effort and give you a basis for comparing costs.
• Talk to vendors, customers, and other business owners and ask where they get their general liability insurance coverage. Make a few calls to local agents and get quotes on your short list of acceptable companies.

With the pricing stage of your research complete, pick out the top three prospects and verify that the coverage is the same for each price quote. Then research these companies for service levels, complaints, and reviews. This typically can be accomplished within a few minutes on the internet.

Now you are ready to choose the best provider for cheap general liability insurance.

The cost of business liability insurance will depend on several factors. The first is the worth of the business, the type of business, and whether you need general liability insurance or a more specific type of commercial liability coverage.

General liability insurance for a business is intended to guard the company against large financial losses in case of a personal injury claim or property damage lawsuit. Even if you are found to be innocent of any wrong doing or liability, defending the company against the claim can be expensive and liability insurance will pay for legal defense.

What is Business Liability Insurance?

Business liability insurance covers your company for damages done to someone outside of the company. This is not for the business or its employees, this is for what is termed a third-party, or someone outside the business (like a client or customer) that is hurt at your place of business or by an employee of the company, or damage is done to their home or other property. If awarded, the money is not paid to you, but to this third-party.

The damage might stem from someone slipping on the sidewalk, a business vehicle accident, or an employee knocking a hole in the wall of a client’s home. There are various types of damage and injuries that business liability insurance will cover the cost of, while saving your company from financial distress.

Are There Different Types of Liability Insurance?

There are several specialized forms of business liability insurance including:

• General Liability Insurance – is a type of broad coverage that protects small business owners from lawsuits initiated by someone injured on your property or resulting from the actions of your employees.
• Automotive Liability Insurance – covers company vehicles and any injuries or property damaged caused through the operation these cars, trucks, or other vehicles.
• Product Liability Insurance – protects the business from lawsuits initiated because of products and items that your business manufactures.
• Professional Liability Insurance which may also be called Errors and Omissions Insurance – covers you in case of a lawsuit arising from services you provide. This might include counseling of any type, day care, pet grooming, tax services, or any type of service granted.
• Employers’ Liability Insurance – covers the business when a lawsuit is filed because one of your employee’s may have caused another employee to become sick or injured. General Business Liability Insurance will cover third-parties from injury or sickness, but it another employee becomes injured or sick due to another employee’s actions, then Employers’ Liability Insurance will protect the business from a lawsuit filed by an employee. This type of liability insurance is different from workers compensation insurance. Employers’ Liability Insurance is required by some states.

Business Liability Insurance Costs

Business insurance rates, including business liability insurance costs, are determined by the state’s Department of Insurance. Insurance companies will have different rates, based on their overheads and additions, but the rate for each specific insurance company will be the same whether you get the quote online, from a broker, or directly from an agent.

The cost of business liability insurance can be affected by many items including:

• Liability Insurance Limits – which refers to the maximum amount the insurance company will pay out on a claim. This limit varies and you should make sure you have the right amount of coverage based on your businesses specific risks. This is important because if you purchase a policy with a million dollar limit and lose a lawsuit awarding the third-party more than a million dollars, the business will have to make up the difference. Work with your insurance agent or broker to determine the best liability limit for your company.
• Deductible – most general liability insurance policies don’t have a deductible. This is the amount that the business would have to pay before insurance covered the rest of the lawsuit. However, a small business owner that would not have a high risk factor might be able to keep their liability insurance costs down by agreeing to a deductible.
• Exclusions – business liability insurance costs might differ based on exclusions. This means that there would be some things that are not covered under the policy and these things might differ from quote to quote. It is important that you understand what exclusions, if any are in your quoted policies. Examples of exclusions might be intentional injury, breach of contract, acts of war, etc.

Business Liability Insurance Quotes

Business owners can get an online estimate of costs from NetQuote, a service that provides business liability insurance quotes. This service will provide as many as five quotes from national insurance carriers within a few minutes of filling out a small questionnaire. The quotes are provided at no cost and without obligation. These online business liability insurance costs are quoted by companies such as Nationwide, The Hartford, Allstate, as well as insurance agents based locally.