Ohio 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:

• Property damage: An educational consultant went to a student’s home to help the student on his college essay. While they were working, the consultant accidentally dropped the student’s brand new laptop computer, breaking it. The parents demanded that the consultant pay to replace the computer. General liability insurance protects education consultants against third-party claims of property damage, bodily injury, and associated medical costs.
• Bodily injury: An engineer is giving a site tour to a client. Despite being instructed to wear a hard hat on the job site, the client does not, and incurs a head injury. The engineer is sued for the medical costs associated with the client’s injury. General liability insurance protects engineers against third-party claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, and property damage.
• Personal injury: A human resources consultant made disparaging remarks about an executive in a client company, and they were overheard by the assistant to the executive. She reported them to the executive, who sued the HR consultant for defamation. General liability insurance protects human resources consultants against third-party claims of bodily injury, associated medical costs, and property damage.

Learn about how much 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:

• Loss of personal information: By mistake, a bookkeeper misplaces a file with sensitive client information. It was an accident of course, but the information is compromised and the client sues for personally identifiable information. Professional liability insurance protects bookkeepers against personally identifiable information claims and will appoint an attorney to defend them if necessary.
• Negligence: An interior designer was hired to redecorate the dining room of a high-level executive in anticipation of an important dinner party. The custom made dining table and chairs were not ready in time for the party due to a delay on the part of the craftsman. The client sued the designer for not completing the project in accordance with the schedule. Professional liability insurance protects interior designers against claims of negligence and will appoint an attorney to defend them, if needed, even if they haven’t made a mistake.

Learn more about professional liability insurance.

Business owners policy (BOP) is a combination of general liability and business property insurance. BOP is often used to provide balanced coverage for small businesses who also want to protect their own business equipment. Some examples of what could be covered are below:

• A computer programmer spills his water on a high end computer system causing irreparable damage. A business owner's policy could cover the cost to replace the system, letting the programmer get back to work.
• The office above a management consultant's office is flooded by a burst pipe and the water leaks into the office below, damaging several desks, chairs, and computers. The insurance agency's business owner's policy could cover the cost to replace the damaged furniture and equipment.

Learn more about business owners insurance.