Texas Commercial General Liability
If you own your own business or are a contractor, Dos Amigos Insurance offers low rates on commercial general liability insurance that can protect you from a variety of claims including bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and others that can arise from your business operations.
Quick Facts about Commercial General Liability Insurance in Texas
- Products/completed operations coverage pays for bodily injury and property damage that occurs away from your business premises and is caused by your products or completed work.
- Premises/operations coverage pays for bodily injury or property damage that occurs on your premises or as a result of your business operations.
Commercial general liability insurance, commonly referred to as CGL, is often combined with property insurance in a business owners policy, but general liability insurance is also available to many contractors as standalone coverage. As a contractor or small business owner, it’s important to have some form of general liability insurance to safeguard your livelihood.
A single accident could result in a lawsuit that you might not be able to handle. A great way to protect against this type of situation is to make sure you carry enough general liability insurance. Some employers might also require you to carry a certain amount of general liability insurance before you can work for them.
General Liability Insurance in Texas covers:
Property Damage
Damage to property that you are legally liable for (including rented property).
Bodily Injury
Injuries to persons for which you are legally liable.
Medical Payments
Bodily injury that occurs during the course of your business operations.
Defense Costs
Suits against your company regardless of fault.
Personal & Advertising Injury
Claims of slander and libel that are not part of your professional services.
Who Needs Commercial General Liability Insurance?
Businesses Owners – If you own a business a prudent thing to do is get business liability insurance or a full business owner’s policy. You’ve worked hard to get this far and one accident or injury could cause financial setbacks for you.
Contractors – General liability coverage is a great idea to keep you protected from your on-the-job risks
Employees – In some cases commercial general liability insurance is a requirement of employment before you can start.
Acronyms and phrases to know
- BOP – Business Owner’s Policy
- CGL – Commercial General Liability insurance policy
- CPP – Commercial Package Policy
- Commercial Excess Policy
- BI – Bodily Injury
- PI – Personal Injury
Frequently Asked Questions - What Does Commercial General Liability Insurance In Texas Cover?
Can I purchase a commercial general liability policy with a business owner’s policy?
Answer: Yes, you are able to purchase a CGL along with a business owner’s policy, as part of a commercial package policy, on its own as a standalone policy, or in combination with other business insurance policies such as a commercial excess policy.
Will a CGL policy cover the costs of my legal defense?
Answer: Yes. A commercial general liability policy covers the financial payments for your legal defense. If you are found liable a CGL policy will also cover the damages assessed by the court up to the limits of your policy.
What is bodily injury and property damage liability coverage?
Answer: These coverages protect your business against any losses arising from where your business is found legally liable.
Does a bodily injury and property damage liability coverage include legal expenses?
Answer: Yes, these policies should cover reasonable legal expenses in your defense.
Are mental injuries and/or emotional distress considered bodily injuries? expenses?
Answer: Yes, even without evidence of physical bodily harm these can be considered bodily injuries and your business can be found liable for the resulting mental injuries or emotional distress.
Does commercial general liability insurance include workers compensation and employment practices liability?
Answer: Most often these are not included in a CGL and are purchased as separate policies.
Will a CGL policy include personal and advertising injury? and employment practices liability?
Answer: A CGL often includes a personal and advertising injury liability policy. This often protects a business that carries CGL insurance from things such as: copyright infringement, slander/libel, malicious prosecution, use of a competitor’s advertising idea, and invasion of privacy.
Does a CGL policy include medical payments for injuries?
Answer: A commercial general liability policy often will include medical payments for non-employees who are injured on your property or during the course of any business operation. This coverage is limited and doesn’t require legal action to be activated, helping a business settle small claims before any litigation proceedings. The medical payments might include necessary and reasonable ambulance, medical, surgical, hospital, profession nursing, or funeral expenses in the unfortunate event of a loss of life.
Are there other types of liability coverage I can get along with my commercial general liability policy?
Answer: Yes there are. You can have a commercial general liability policy and in addition add other liability coverages such as:
- Directors and Officers Liability – This coverage helps protect any past or future directors and executive officers from any assessed damages which resulted from their time with your company. This type of coverage is available for nonprofits and for-profit corporations alike. It is also possible to find coverage that extends to employees as well.
- Liquor Liability – If you make, sell, serve, or allow employees and friends to consume alcohol on your premises you might consider this additional liability to protect you from claims of an intoxicated person injuring themselves or others. Your commercial general liability will most often not protect your business from liquor-related damages.
- Pollution Liability – You may not mean to, but your business could bring harm to the environment, putting your company at risk for damages related to the unintended pollution whether it is sudden or gradually developing. This coverage often also covers pollution hazards result in bodily injury, property damage, or additional costs related to clean up efforts.
Texas State Mandates on Commercial General Liability Insurance
CGL policies offered by licensed insurers must contain the following legislatively mandated provisions:
Coverage may not be cancelled by the insurer after 60 days from the effective date of the policy except for the following reasons:
- fraud in obtaining coverage;
- failure to pay premiums when due;
- an increase in hazard within your control that would produce a rate increase;
- loss of the insurer’s reinsurance covering all or part of the risk covered by your policy; or
- at any time if the insurer is placed in supervision, conservatorship, or receivership and the cancellation or nonrenewal is approved or directed by the supervisor, conservator, or receiver.
The insurer must provide at least 60 days notice of nonrenewal and must tell you in writing why it will not renew your policy.
Policyholders obtaining insurance from licensed insurers are protected by the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association for up to $300,000 per claim if the insurer becomes insolvent.
