Years ago – within living memory – lawsuits were a relatively rare occurrence, but times change. Today, no business can afford to be unprepared for a lawsuit. It could be a delivery person who breaks a leg on a slippery floor in your hallway, a guest who is in a car accident after consuming alcohol at your company’s holiday party, or a competitor who sues for copyright infringement. Even if the suit fails, defense costs could be high.
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance would protect your business in such scenarios. CGL protects your business assets if your business is sued for something your business did (or failed to do) that contributed to injury or property damage to someone else. The injury can also include damage from libel, slander, copyright infringement , or false advertising. Liability coverage would pay for damages and would also extend to paying attorneys’ fees and other costs involved in defending against the lawsuit, whether valid or not.
In Pennsylvania, general liability insurance is available as standalone coverage or it is included in the package of coverages in a Business Owners Policy (BOP). It should be noted that it does not cover injury to employees, nor does it cover harm that occurs due to professional negligence. Other coverages would need to be added specifically for those exposures. See the sidebar for common liability options.
While we’re proud to call Pennsylvania our home, we’ve helped businesses all across the country manage their risk and we look forward to helping you, too – no matter where it is that you call home.
Business owners know that there’s always something that can go wrong. Whether it’s a production delay due to a problem in the supply chain or a worker injury on the plant floor, you need to protect your operations, your productivity, and your bottom line. Gilbert’s Risk Solutions can help.
You have enough to worry about with running your business, you shouldn’t have to worry about lawsuits and liability. Gilbert’s Risk Solutions partners with businesses to identify areas of potential exposure and recommends solutions to mitigate the risk. When it comes to protecting your operations, your productivity, and your bottom line, Gilbert’s Risk Solutions can help.
Although insurance is a critical component in business protection, it’s only one component. To prevent losses, it’s important to also manage your risk. The Gilbert’s Risk Solutions process is a consultative one, based on a risk management approach. Our proprietary RISK SHIELD® Process identifies your exposures and puts a loss control plan in place to mitigate those exposures. Often, the solution is an insurance product but, frequently, it’s a recommendation for a business process or a measure that will reduce an exposure.
For many Pennsylvania businesses, general liability insurance or a package of coverages will offer good liability protection, but there are other coverages that may be advisable. A coverage that is often helpful due to the growing number of employee discrimination suits is Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI). As part of our risk assessment process, we will advise you of any industry-specific exposures that might warrant risk control measures or a supplemental form of liability insurance.
We take a 360 degree view of your business to ensure that all aspects of your business are secure. Our team of experts in Loss Control, Employee Benefits, Human Resources, and Surety Bonds are all available to our Gilbert’s Risk Solutions commercial clients, ensuring multi-pronged risk mitigation.