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.
