California General Liability Insurance
General Liability Insurance for California Businesses
 Although every business is unique, all face the similar dangers after opening their doors to the public. Businessowners do their best to dedicate time and effort to making the company as safe and successful as possible. Unfortunately, accidents still happen that may be out of your control. One bad lawsuit can drain your savings or even send you out of business, if you don’t have a comfortable cushion. Most small businesses, especially in the first five years, don’t have enough funds to fall back on after a heavy financial hit.
Charpentier Insurance Services, Inc. understands the risks businessowners take when starting a business and we want to help you succeed. Working with multiple top carriers, we work closely with businessowners to find and tailor a policy that not only fits the business, but fits the budget.
How General Liability Works
General liability insurance covers accidents and acts of non-professional negligence. Non-professional negligence means mistakes that are made that are not related to an employee’s or business’ specialty that have adverse affects on the public. For example, say a guest spills milk in your grocery store. The nearest employee leaves to fetch a wet floor sign, but before they come back, another guest slips, falls and sprains their ankle. This is non-professional negligence.
General liability has three main areas:
Bodily Injury and Property Damage
Bodily injury and property damage that arise as a result of everyday business operations can lead to an expensive lawsuit. Bodily injury can include mental injuries such as stress. Keep in mind that general liability does not include employee injuries, professional liability (which protects against professional negligence) or employment practices liability. For employee injuries, you will need workers compensation.
Personal or Advertising Injury
Personal or advertising injury occurs when the business is accused by another person or business for acts concerning libel slander, copyright infringement, false arrest, theft of advertising ideas and more. For example, say your company creates an ad stating that the competition steals from customers. That company can now sue you, and personal or advertising injury coverage can help pay for the legal fees.
Medical Payments
One half of general liability pays for legal and lawsuit fees while the other half covers medical payments. If a third party is injured on the property or as a result of non-professional negligence, this coverage will compensate the victim for reasonable medical expenses such as an ambulance, hospital or professional nursing.
Get a Policy Today
Starting a business and keeping a business running are two different entities, both almost just as difficult. Protect your business today by calling Charpentier Insurance Services, Inc. at 661-322-1888 or fill out a free form for a fast online quote today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Umbrella Insurance?
Umbrella insurance is a liability policy that steps in when your other liability policies reach their limit. For example, if you have a general liability policy that covers $1 million and you are sued for $1.5 million when everything is said and done, an umbrella insurance policy will compensate for the remaining $500,000.
How Much Does General Liability Insurance Cost for a Sole Proprietor?
Sole proprietors pay an average of $500 a year for general liability insurance.
What Does General Liability Insurance Cover?
General liability insurance covers accidents of bodily injury, property damage and personal or advertising injury.
|