What Injuries are Not Covered Under General Liability Insurance?

General liability is a frequently used insurance policy because it covers the most common accidents and injuries that may occur on your business’ property. Unfortunately, even the most comprehensive general liability insurance policy won’t cover everything. There are certain accidents and injuries that may be excluded from your insurance policy. Be aware of these exclusions so that you can know what to expect in case a claim is not covered. 

Employee Injuries 

For the majority of cases, employee injuries will not be covered under general liability. General liability insurance is generally geared toward third parties and clients, while injuries an employee may suffer on the job should be covered under workers compensation.  

Intentional Injuries 

Injuries that a customer or third party purposefully inflict on themselves will not be covered. For example, if the camera in your grocery store catches a customer purposefully spilling milk on the ground and immediately slipping in it, this injury likely will not be covered. 

Illegal or Malicious Attacks 

If one of your employees or managers attacks a customer, the resulting injuries may or may not be covered. On the workers compensation side, workers comp will not cover employee injuries if that employee instigated the fight that caused the injuries. 

Injuries caused by intentional or illegal acts will not be covered under general liability insurance. 

Vehicle Accidents 

Say your company transports equipment. While on the road, one of your driver causes an accident and injures another driver. This accident is not covered under general liability insurance, as it did not occur on the business’ property. Instead, you will need a separate commercial auto insurance policy with liability coverage in order to pay for injuries and damages caused by the work vehicle. 

Other Common Exclusions 

Along with the above injuries, general liability insurance also does not cover damage to your commercial property. Although it does cover third party property, it may not cover intentional damage or illegal activities that lead to the destruction, damage or theft of another person’s belongings. 

Be sure to review your commercial general liability insurance policy with your insurance provider. Different businesses require different limits and you may want to enhance your general liability insurance in order to protect your business’ unique assets. 

Many business owners choose to enhance their general liability insurance policy with <umbrella liability insurance>. Speak with an insurance agent about improving your general liability limits and adding additional liability coverage to fill in remaining gaps.