Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance—also known as general liability insurance (GLI) or business liability insurance—helps protect your business from claims of bodily injury and property damage.

What Does Commercial General Liability Insurance Cover?

Commercial general liability insurance helps cover your costs to respond to a claim that your business caused property damage or bodily injury. It can help pay for:

• A customer or client’s medical expenses if they slip and fall in your business.

• Reputational harm resulting from malicious prosecution, slander, libel, wrongful eviction, or violating a person’s privacy.

• Advertising injuries, such as copyright infringement from your business’ advertisements or social media activity, or trademark infringement when marketing your business’ products or services.

• False arrest or imprisonment if your business wrongfully detains a person suspected of shoplifting, for example.

• Medical costs if your customer or client hurts themselves while visiting your business.

• Damage to rented property caused by a covered loss such as fire, lightning, or explosion.

• Repair costs to fix a wall that your employee accidentally damaged while working at a customer’s home or bodily injuries to a child caused by a harmful substance your employee did not properly dispose of.

• Legal costs to defend your business in a lawsuit.

• Judgments and settlements from a customer or client’s lawsuit.

In Indiana, Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance is designed to protect businesses from a wide range of potential liability exposures. This type of insurance typically covers the business's legal responsibility for the bodily injuries or property damage it may cause to others. It can help cover medical expenses if someone is injured at the business premises, such as a slip and fall incident. CGL insurance also covers reputational harm claims, including slander and libel, as well as advertising injuries like copyright or trademark infringement. Additionally, it can provide coverage for incidents such as false arrest or imprisonment related to the business's operations. The policy may also cover damages to rented property and repair costs for accidental damage caused by employees. Legal defense costs, judgments, and settlements from lawsuits are also typically included in the coverage. It's important for businesses to review their policies and ensure they have adequate coverage for their specific risks. While CGL insurance is not mandated by Indiana state law, it is often required by clients or landlords and can be crucial for protecting the financial stability of a business.