General Liability Insurance for Washington Businesses
Commercial general liability pays when your business injures someone or damages their property: a customer slips in your shop, a crew member cracks a client's countertop, a product you sold causes harm. It also pays for the lawyers, which is often the larger number.
It is also the policy other people ask about. Landlords, general contractors, and enterprise clients will want a certificate of insurance showing specific limits and naming them as additional insureds before you can sign the lease or start the job.
What it covers
- Bodily injury and property damage to third parties caused by your operations
- Products and completed operations: harm that shows up after the job is done
- Personal and advertising injury: defamation, false light, and some copyright claims in your ads
- Legal defense, usually paid in addition to the limit rather than eroding it
What it does not cover
- Professional mistakes, bad advice, and missed deadlines
- Injuries to your own employees
- Your own property and your own work product
- Auto accidents, pollution, and most cyber events
Who needs it
Nearly every business that meets customers, works on client property, sells a product, or signs a lease or contract. It is the most commonly required commercial coverage.
What drives the price
- Industry classification
- Revenue or payroll (the rating basis varies by class)
- Subcontractor use and whether subs carry their own insurance
- Limits required by your contracts
- Claims history
Where owners get caught: signing contracts the policy does not match
Contracts routinely require additional insured status, primary and noncontributory wording, waivers of subrogation, and specific per project aggregates. If your policy lacks the matching endorsements, you are in breach of contract before anything goes wrong, and you may be personally on the hook for the indemnity you promised. Send us the insurance section of a contract before you sign it.
General Liability: common questions
How much general liability do I need?
$1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate is the most common requirement. Contracts, leases, and your industry may call for more, which is usually met more cheaply with a commercial umbrella than by raising the primary limit.
What is a certificate of insurance?
A one page summary proving you carry coverage. It does not change your policy by itself. Being listed as an additional insured requires an endorsement on the actual policy, which is why we check the contract language first.
Does general liability cover work my subcontractors do?
It can, but carriers expect your subs to carry their own coverage and name you as an additional insured. Uninsured subs are a common reason for a large premium adjustment at audit.
General Liability in practice
Illustrative stories of businesses that needed it, and what else their review turned up.
A Hardware Startup's First Retail Order Came With an Insurance Requirement
A smart home device startup landed a national retailer. The vendor agreement required products liability coverage the founders had never bought, and the review found two more gaps that investors would ask about next.
GLD&OPropertyFitness and wellnessThe Fitness Studio That Thought Its Waivers Were the Insurance
A strength and conditioning studio relied on signed waivers and a basic liability policy. The review found gaps in how trainers were covered, a policy that excluded the injuries most likely to happen, and no plan for staff claims.
GLE&OEPLIConstructionThe Remodeler Who Couldn't Start the Job Until His Certificate Matched the Contract
A kitchen and bath remodeler landed his biggest subcontract yet, then learned his general liability policy was missing three endorsements the contract required. Here is how the gap got closed before day one.
GLUmbrellaAutoChildcare and educationWhat a Preschool's Liability Policy Needs That Most Small Businesses Never Think About
A licensed preschool had general liability through a standard package. The review found an abuse and molestation exclusion, a field trip van on a personal policy, and staff turnover with no employment coverage.
GLAutoEPLIBuilding servicesA Cleaning Company's Clients Wanted Three Things It Had Never Bought
A janitorial company bidding on office buildings kept hitting the same wall: property managers wanted stop-gap, a janitorial bond, and employment coverage. Here is how the program came together.
Stop-gapGLEPLIFood and beverageA Food Truck Is a Vehicle, a Kitchen, and a Business. Its Insurance Should Be All Three.
A taco truck owner had a commercial auto policy and figured that was the whole program. The review found the kitchen equipment, the customers, and the events all needed coverage the auto policy doesn't provide.
AutoGLPropertyUsually written alongside
Business Owners Policy
Property, liability, and lost income bundled into one policy. The right starting point for most small businesses.
Learn moreCommercial Umbrella
Extra liability limits above your GL, auto, and employers liability, usually at a lower cost per dollar.
Learn moreProfessional Liability (E&O)
Claims that your advice, work, or service cost a client money. Excluded from every BOP and GL policy.
Learn morePart of the programs we build for contractors & trades, restaurants & food, real estate & property owners and retail & shops.
Not sure your general liability coverage fits?
Send us what you have. We review it line by line against your leases and contracts, and tell you plainly what is missing. Free, and no obligation.