General Liability Insurance

General Liability Exclusions

General liability insurance offers businesses protection from an array of liabilities, but like any policy it has exclusions - specific situations or types of claims which will not be covered. Some common exclusions found in general liability policies are:

Intentional Acts: Claims related to deliberate, malicious or fraudulent acts by the policyholder typically aren't covered.
Contractual Liabilities: Liabilities assumed under contracts may often be excluded, as they would have existed even without them.
Liquor Liability: Businesses involved with manufacturing, distributing, selling or serving alcoholic beverages may require a separate liquor liability policy to meet legal compliance.
Workers' Compensation: Employee injuries typically fall within the coverage of workers' compensation insurance and, thus, should not be included as part of general liability policies.
Pollution: Damage or injuries caused by pollutants may not be covered, prompting businesses to purchase an environmental or pollution liability policy separately.
Aircraft, Auto and Watercraft Operations: Damage caused to aircraft, automobiles or watercraft when operated is generally not covered under a general liability policy.
Professional Services: Errors and omissions in professional services may necessitate additional liability (or malpractice) insurance policies.
Damage to Owned Property: Damages resulting from the insured owning, using, or having control of their own property tend to be excluded from insurance policies.
Recall of Products, Work or Impaired Property: Often times the costs associated with recalling a product or work are overlooked.
Loss of Electronic Data: Losses related to electronic data could be excluded and would typically be covered under a specific cyber liability policy.
Terrorism: Damages or injuries sustained as the result of war or terrorism tend to be exempt from compensation.

Companies should carefully assess their general liability policies to understand exactly what risks are covered and which aren't. If any risks that fall outside their policy's coverage gap exist, additional or specialized policies might need to be purchased as needed to fill them in.