General Liability Insurance
The foundational business policy covering injuries to customers/visitors and damage you cause to others' property.
Commercial General Liability (CGL) is the foundation of business insurance — required by virtually every commercial lease, government contract, and major client agreement. It covers three main categories: bodily injury to non-employees (a customer slips in your store), property damage you cause (your contractor employee damages a client's wall), and personal/advertising injury (libel, slander, copyright infringement in your marketing).
Standard CGL limits are $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate (the most the policy will pay across all claims in a year). Higher-risk industries (construction, manufacturing, anything involving customer-facing physical premises) often need higher limits.
CGL does NOT cover: damage to your own property (that's commercial property insurance), employee injuries (workers comp), professional mistakes giving bad advice (E&O), data breaches (cyber), or commercial vehicle accidents (commercial auto). It's specifically about third-party bodily injury and property damage from your operations.
Most landlords and commercial clients require you to provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) naming them as "additional insured" — Geneva can issue these same-day for any commercial client.
Related terms:Workers Compensation Insurance·Professional Liability (E&O) Insurance