General liability insurance is a foundational commercial insurance. It’s a coverage that many businesses in Saint Albans, VT should have, and it’s one that’s found in several different types of insurance policies. If you own a business in the area, here’s a look at three different ways your company might purchase this form of insurance.

How Should Your Saint Albans, VT Business Get General Liability Insurance?

General Liability Insurance Gives Your Business Several Protections

General liability insurance is an aptly named coverage. It’s a form of liability insurance that provides general protections.

As a type of liability insurance, general liability coverage normally protects businesses in situations where they’re held responsible for another party’s loss. If your business in Saint Albans, VT, for instance, causes an individual or business to suffer property damage, injury, or some other loss, the individual or business may sue your company. Assuming a suit is covered by the terms of your business’ general liability coverage, the insurance would likely help pay for any legal fees and settlements associated with the case.

The exact incidents that a particular general liability coverage protects against depend on the coverage’s terms, conditions, and exclusions, and what one policy covers can be different from what another policy covers. Broadly speaking, however, general liability coverage usually provides broad protections against claims arising from the following:

• Accidents that occur on your business’ premises (or property)
• Incidents that occur during your business’ normal operations (including operations away from your business’ property)
• Injuries and damage that your business’ products cause
• Issues related to work your business has done

Even if a policy’s general liability coverage doesn’t provide comprehensive protection against all of these potential risks, your business could likely benefit greatly from the general protections that this coverage does provide against these risks. Should your business need more protection, you can likely find additional liability coverages that will supplement a general liability coverage with more specialized protections.

General Liability Coverage is Available Through Several Policies

Because general liability coverage is often indispensable, it’s widely available through several different types of insurance policies. Most businesses obtain this coverage through one of three ways: as a stand-alone policy, through a business owners policy (BOP) or via a commercial package policy (CPP).

A stand-alone general liability policy is a single, freestanding policy that offers general liability coverage. This may be an appropriate choice if your business only needs general liability protection, although most businesses don’t just need general liability coverage. This option can also be helpful if your business already has some general liability protection through a BOP or CPP, but needs more in order to bid or secure a contract. In these situations, a stand-alone policy might offer the extra coverage that your business needs. 

BOPs often combine general liability protection with other coverages that many businesses need. In addition to general liability coverage, many BOPs also include business interruption coverage and commercial property coverage. A BOP may be suitable if your business doesn’t need additional liability protection but has other insurance needs.

CPPs are flexible policies that can include general liability protection and many other coverages. They may combine general liability coverage with any number of other liability coverages, and they can include lots of different property coverages. A CPP might be the best choice if your business has multiple or uncommon insurance needs, as this type of policy can be designed to insure your business against both common risks and unusual ones.