Spend any time working with clients, customers, equipment, or inventory, and you quickly learn how little it takes for things to go wrong. Some days it can feel like all you do is put out proverbial fires in the office, on the sales floor, or at the job site. As a business owner, you’re responsible for everything that happens, including when someone gets hurt or suffers property damage while doing business with you.
In California, general liability insurance is a must-have coverage for most businesses. It’s what covers you when everything goes wrong and you’re responsible for fixing it.
What is general liability insurance?
When anyone who isn’t an employee — customers, vendors, clients, or others — interacts with your business, you’re responsible for their property damage or other injuries. This could be a trip and fall in your store to a stolen phone or thumb drive during a meeting. Injuries and damage occur in all kinds of ways.
As the business owner, you’re liable for the injured parties costs from medical expenses to full replacement of their property. A good California general liability insurance policy protects you and your business in three key ways and protects you from financial ruin.
Bodily injury: General liability pays the medical expenses when someone is injured on your business property or while doing business with you.
Property damage: General liability covers the costs to repair or replace damaged, stolen, or destroyed property — whether it occurred on your business property or in the course of doing business with you.
Lawsuits: In California, general liability insurance pays your legal fees and the settlement or judgement (up to your policy limit) if you’re sued for liability by a customer, client, vendor, or other third-party who was injured in some way while doing business with you.
It’s impossible to predict how big an accident will be or just how much you’ll be responsible for. That’s why it’s important to have a robust general liability policy that covers your business completely. You shouldn’t lose your entire livelihood because of one bad accident or big lawsuit. You and your company deserve better.
Contact PTL Insurance Brokers today and learn more about California general liability insurance and other policies that can help protect your business.
FAQs
Most often a policy will have coverage with limits of $1 million per occurrence, $2 million in aggregate and $2 million product/completed operations. Insurance companies can offer several variations of those limits. If additional coverage limits are required a contractor may purchase an Excess policy.
Why do brokerage firms purchase general liability insurance? ›
Real estate broker liability insurance allows you to protect your business so you can focus on your work without worrying about unexpected costs. Without this insurance, you might have to pay for expensive damages or medical bills out of pocket, which could put your business at risk.
How to calculate a general liability rate? ›
How are general liability insurance premiums calculated?
- Size and condition of your business premises. ...
- Your class code and payroll. ...
- Business operations and industry. ...
- Annual business revenue. ...
- Experience in your profession, field, or business. ...
- Number of employees. ...
- Location of your business. ...
- Your claims history.
Yes, 250/500 is enough insurance for most drivers since it exceeds most states' minimum car insurance requirements as well as the median net worth.
How much is $1000000 general liability? ›
On average, a $1 million liability insurance policy costs $69 a month, or $824 a year, for our small business owners.
What is the $100 000 limit of liability insurance? ›
The average policy can include up to $100,000 in liability coverage. That means in the event of a covered loss, your insurer will help cover the costs if you're held responsible for injuring another person or damaging another person's property.
How much is a $2 million dollar insurance policy for a business? ›
How much is a 2-million dollar insurance policy for a business? On average, an insurance policy that offers coverage for up to $2 million can cost about $30 a month in premiums.
What is general liability limit? ›
General aggregate limit, sometimes called the “aggregate limit of liability,” is the maximum amount of money your insurance company will pay out for claims during a policy period.
What is the loss ratio for general liability insurance? ›
The loss ratio formula is insurance claims paid plus adjustment expenses divided by total earned premiums. For example, if a company pays $80 in claims for every $160 in collected premiums, the loss ratio would be 50%.
Which is a type of insurance to avoid? ›
Defined Events Coverage
Unless the policy specifically defines a damage-causing event, no coverage will be rewarded to the claimant. Avoid policies in which the defined events are limited, improbable or irrelevant to your situation.
Most financial experts recommend raising your liability to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident if you have few assets. With more assets — like a house, expensive car, or large amounts of savings — experts recommend bumping your coverage up to at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.
How much is an umbrella policy? ›
What is umbrella insurance? On average, umbrella insurance premiums cost between $200 to $300 per year. When the unexpected happens, your insurance policies are meant to act as a safety net to keep your wallet from feeling the brunt of life's mishaps.
What is the minimum liability coverage for California? ›
California requires drivers to carry at least the following auto insurance coverages: Bodily injury liability coverage: $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident minimum. Property damage liability coverage: $5,000 minimum.
What is the limit of liability to the amount of insurance? ›
Liability limits are the maximum dollar amount of damages (“indemnity”) an insurance carrier will pay on your behalf. Limits are broken down into two categories: the per claim limit and the aggregate limit.
What is 100 300 50 liability limits? ›
Having a 100/300/50 auto insurance policy means you have $100,000 in coverage for bodily injury liability per person, $300,000 for bodily injury liability per accident, and $50,000 for property damage liability.
