Limitations of General Liability Insurance for Businesses

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For businesses, insurance is an important part of daily operations. There are many benefits of having an insurance plan, the most obvious (and most important) is the payment of losses.  An insurance policy is a contract used to indemnify individuals and organizations for covered losses. Among the benefits of having an insurance policy are:

  • Insurance help in managing cash flow uncertainty. 
  • Insurance provides payment for covered losses when they occur.  Therefore, the uncertainty of paying for losses out-of-pocket is reduced significantly.
  • Insurance assures that businesses and organizations comply with legal requirements as this is needed to prove financial resources. 

Specific for businesses, Generic Liability Insurance (GLI), which is also known as Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance, can help protect your business if someone sues you for causing property damage or bodily injury. Even though there are many benefits of this type of insurance, artisan contractors and handymen services are in a unique situation because these targeted group of business need policies that are designed to meet their particular and specific needs pertaining to the general contractor business. Artisan contractors usually are contractors who do work in roofing, farming, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, framing, fire sprinklers and other specialties. Their job functions are usually considered more perilous as compared to other jobs in the society. This is the reason why experts from incj.com explain the coverage of General Liability Insurance for contractors which include a comprehensive list of coverage such as: bodily injury, completed operations coverage, fire liability coverage, and many more. They help explain the importance of having a unique insurance policy for contractors in order to protect them and their business from financial fallout of accidents occurred or mistakes made in the building process.

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General Liability Insurance Limitations:

Even though General Liability Insurance helps you make sleep better at night, it is also important to note that in every insurance plan, there will always be limitations. 

  1. Workers’ compensation insurance can help if an employee has sustained an injury that leaves them unable to work, but an employee cannot work while still collecting benefits from the insurance policy.
  2. Every insurance policy, no matter the type, has exclusions, such as events and situations it will not cover and limits on the maximum amount that it will pay toward a claim. For example, if you are driving for work and get into an accident, your personal auto insurance may not cover the damages, which means you will also want to also purchase commercial auto insurance.

In summary, investments in insurance are definitely an advantage, especially for businesses and organizations.  As consumers, it is your responsibility to check the coverage of your insurance policy and weigh the inclusions of the policy to make sure that you get back the value of your money. If your business includes employees whose job functions put them at risk for their safety, it is also helpful to check unique insurance plans to ensure that they get the coverage that they need. It is better to be safe and be insured, than be crippled in a situation where you have no back-up plan.