Coverage Guide

Commercial General Liability Insurance

Commercial general liability (CGL) is the foundational coverage for virtually every business. It protects against third-party bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury claims that arise from a business's operations, products, or premises. CGL is the most commonly placed commercial line and is required by most commercial contracts and leases.

What CGL covers

Bodily injury and property damage

Covers third-party bodily injury or property damage caused by the insured's operations or premises — a customer slipping and falling, a contractor damaging a client's property.

Products and completed operations

Covers claims arising from products the business manufactured or sold, or work the business completed. Particularly important for contractors and manufacturers.

Personal and advertising injury

Covers claims of defamation, copyright infringement, wrongful eviction, or false arrest arising from the insured's advertising or business activities.

Medical payments

Covers medical expenses for third parties injured on the premises — regardless of fault — up to a per-person limit, typically $5,000 to $10,000.

Standard CGL limits

The most common CGL limit structure is $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate. Many contracts require this minimum. Higher limits ($2M/$4M) are common for larger operations, construction, and accounts with higher exposure. Products-completed operations is typically carried at the same aggregate as general liability.

Clients who need limits above $5M typically add a commercial umbrella policy on top of the underlying CGL.

Who needs commercial general liability

✓General and specialty contractors

✓Retailers and wholesale distributors

✓Restaurants and food service businesses

✓Professional service firms (law offices, consultants)

✓Manufacturers and fabricators

✓Property owners and landlords

✓Technology companies and staffing firms

✓Healthcare and medical practices

ACORD forms required

A CGL submission requires two forms:

ACORD 125Commercial Insurance Application — general business information ACORD 126Commercial General Liability Section — operations, subcontractors, class codes

How AgencyAssist speeds up CGL submissions

The operations description, subcontractor data, and class code information required for a CGL submission is difficult to collect because clients don't know what underwriters need. AgencyAssist sends clients a plain-English intake link that collects every piece of information needed for the ACORD 125 and 126 in a single 8-minute form. Both forms are generated automatically and are ready to submit to the carrier.

Submit CGL applications in minutes

One client intake link. Completed ACORD 125 and 126 generated automatically.

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