Alabama Business Insurance

General liability insurance, known as Commercial General Liability (CGL), protects your business from another person or business’s claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, and damage to property. Some examples of what could be covered are below:

• Bodily injury: A client comes to an accountant’s office on a rainy day. The client slips and falls in the entryway of the building, breaking their wrist. The accountant’s general liability policy could cover the costs associated with the client’s injury, including lost wages.
• Property damage: An interior decorator is measuring a client’s windows for new window treatments. The stepladder falls, knocking an expensive vase off a table and breaking it. The decorator’s general liability policy could cover the cost to replace the vase.
• Personal injury: A temporary paralegal hired by a divorce attorney is eating lunch at a local restaurant with a friend. They are having a conversation about one of the attorney’s clients who is in the midst of a messy divorce. The conversation is overheard by the client’s ex-wife, who uses the information she hears to extract a larger settlement in the divorce. The client sues the attorney for slander, but a professional liability policy could protect them.

Learn more about general liability insurance costs.

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance (E&O insurance), covers another person’s claims against businesses that provide professional and personal services. Some examples of what could be covered include:

• Dissatisfied client: An architect designs a large-scale home renovation for an indecisive client. After the project is complete, the client sues the architect for failing to meet the deadline and budget, despite the fact that the overages were due to multiple change requests by the client. A professional liability policy could protect the architect, paying his defense costs as well as any settlement or judgment.
• Protection even if you haven’t made a mistake: A long-time client of a therapist confesses that they have developed romantic feelings toward the therapist. The therapist tells the client that it’s no longer appropriate to continue to treat the client and recommends a new therapist. The client is hurt, and files a claim of sexual impropriety against the therapist. Even though the therapist did nothing wrong, their professional liability policy could protect them, including the costs to defend against the allegations.

Learn more about professional liability insurance.