Contractor's Insurance

It is very important for construction businesses to have general liability insurance, which is sometimes referred to as Commercial General Liability Insurance or CGL. This type of insurance  may protect your construction business from a person’s or business’s claims of bodily injury, personal injury, and/or property damage. 
Any enterprise can be sued. Customers may claim that the business caused them harm as the result of, for example, a defective product, an error in a service or disregard for another person’s property. Or a claimant may allege that the busi­ness created a hazardous environment. Liability insurance pays damages for which the business is found liable, up to the policy limits, as well as attorneys’ fees and other legal defense expenses. It also pays the medical bills of any peo­ple injured by, or on the premises of, the business.
A Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy is the first line of defense against many common claims. CGL policies cover claims in four basic categories of business liability:

• Bodily injury

• Property damage

• Personal injury (including slander or libel)

• Advertising injury (damage from slander or false advertising)

In addition to covering claims listed above, CGL policies also cover the cost of defending or settling claims. General liability insurance policies always state the maximum amount that the insurer will pay during the policy period.
There are two major forms of liability insurance policies a business can select: occurrence and claims made. Both types of policies have their advantages.

• Occurrence Policy: An occurrence policy covers a business for harm to others caused by incidents that occurred while a policy is in force, no matter when the claim is filed. For example, a person might sue a business in 2010 for an injury stemming from a fall in 1999. The policy that was in place when the incident occurred (i.e. 1999) will apply, even if the company now has a policy in place with higher limits. Occurrence coverage may not be available in some states or for some industries or professions.

• Claims Made Policy: A claims made policy covers the business based on the policy that is in force when the claim is made, regardless of when the incident occurred. In the above example, the limits in the policy in effect in 2010 would apply. Businesses with claims made policies can purchase optional “tail coverage.” Tail coverage enables a business to report claims after the policy has ended for alleged injuries that occurred while the policy was in effect.

Protection Against Terrorist Attack Losses
Under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 and its extensions, only busi­nesses that purchase optional terrorism coverage are covered for losses arising from terrorist acts. The exception is workers compensation, which covers work-related injuries and deaths including those due to acts of terrorism