If you are a business owner and planning on getting insurance to support your small business, this article will help you clear your basics. Figuring out the type of liability insurance that your business might need is difficult. In this article, we have specified different forms of liability insurance to help you protect your business.
General Liability
Public Liability Insurance (PLI) includes accidental damages; for instance, it is liable for a person who falls over a loose carpet; General Liability Insurance (GLI) deals with property damage, medical costs of injuries, and product damage. The policy may vary depending upon general guidelines and coverage details.
General Liability Insurance helps to cover the costs of liability claims brought against you for injury or property damage to a third party. This can also be followed in the case of an advertising injury. To give you an idea, if a customer gets involved in an accident at your construction business location, they could claim your company.
The average cost of the slip and fall claim can go up to $20k. Without having construction, and general liability insurance, your company may have to pay a hefty amount of costs related to settling such claims. This might create an imbalance in the financial budget for your own business.
Reputation claims are one of the most expensive liability claims as their cost can reach up to $50K. For instance, a business can rightfully claim that their business is getting suffered or impacted because of your claims. It can happen because you might have said something in the meeting or interview, or it can even be because of your advertisement that showed the quality of your products is better than theirs.
Below mentioned are some of the points that fall under the aspects of general liability:
- Expenses related to property damage claims made against your company
- Costs to settle claims by a third party that your business caused them personal injury
- Advertising injury claims made against your company/business
- Attorney fees are charged for settling covered claims
- Court prices are associated with covered claims
- Judgments and settlements are made for covered claims
On the contrary, there are some factors that general liability insurance does not cover. All the important points are mentioned below:
- Costs of personal injury claims made by company employees with regards to work-related incidents
- Costs of vehicle accidents indirectly caused by your company to an individual while driving for work purposes
- Intensional illegal or malicious act
Who Needs This Type Of Insurance?
General Liability Insurance In Lake Charles, LA, is not needed by the state law. Still, without General Liability Insurance, you might be compelled to pay the costs of common liability claims. Furthermore, if you are planning on contracting work from large companies, it is more likely that they might ask you to get this coverage and demand to show proof of insurance.
Several large companies want their hired vendors and contractors to have general liability insurance. Companies can be assured that the contractor can survive a liability claim.
Commercial Liability
Commercial Liability is another part of general liability insurance. It covers different clauses, including property insurance that covers the damage to workplace premises, workers’ compensation that handles workers’ medical costs in case of injuries on the job, and public liability insurance. For instance, if you are an electrician, you would have to pay medical costs under workers’ compensation if one of your workers accidentally fell off the ladder and sprained his ankle at work.
Professional Liability
Under Professional Liability insurance, you would have to pay the compensation if your client is not happy with your work or something goes wrong because of your unprofessional advice. For example, if you are a remodeling contractor and recommend a certain type of flooring to your client, which is extremely slippery, they may sue you. Under professional liability insurance, you would have to pay the legal and damage costs to your client.
Employer Liability
Another important factor of workers’ compensation insurance is Employer Liability insurance. Under this insurance coverage, you would have to pay for the medical costs and lost wages to the employees if they get hurt or injured during their working hours or on the job location.
If the employee does not feel satisfied with the compensation for the damage, they may sue you for more damages that are not properly covered by worker’s compensation policies. For instance, if you are the owner of a fitness center, and one of your trainers drops a heavy dumbbell on his foot, you will have to pay the medical cost of his broken toe and lost wages during the recovery. If the dumbbell storage system isn’t in good condition, the trainer can sue you under employer liability insurance.
These are the different types of liability insurance that you can consider for your business. It’s suggested to seek the best general liability insurance for your small business to focus more on your business’ growth and progress. Although general liability insurance is not legally necessary in many places, it’s a wise decision to get your property insurance.
