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BROCHURE: UNDERSTANDING THE ISO COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY COVERAGE FORMS

(April 2019)

You don't have any control over the ultimate cost of injuries to a person injured because of your operations, products, or services. The person injured may be a young child, a blue-collar worker, a surgeon, or a homeless person. The cost of the injuries may be comparatively minor or run into the millions of dollars, depending on the person and the extent of his or her injuries. Do you have sufficient assets to pay such a loss? And, if you do, should you use them that way? If not, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Commercial General Liability (CGL) Coverage Forms are designed to help you protect your assets.

Consult the policy for definitions and limitations. The terms of this brochure do not represent contract terms. The policy is subject to company underwriting practices.

WHAT IS COVERED

The ISO CGL Coverage Forms protect your assets in several ways.

• Liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage insures your legal obligations that arise from an accident. It also includes the costs related to lawsuits and other legal proceedings. The limits of insurance should be sufficient to handle serious injuries and the injured person's loss of earnings.
• Liability coverage for damages due to personal and advertising injury insures your legal obligations that arise from an offense. It also includes the costs related to lawsuits and other legal proceedings. The limits of insurance should be sufficient to handle serious injuries and the injured person's loss of earnings.
• Medical Payments coverage pays the cost of medical care to persons injured on your premises or due to your operations, regardless of fault.

Each of these coverages is subject to certain policy exclusions, conditions, and definitions.

WHAT IS NOT COVERED

Every insurance coverage form, or policy has certain exclusions and limitations. This is because only specific types of businesses need the coverage or the risk or exposure to loss is not considered insurable for some reason. Some bodily injury and property damage liability exclusions are:

• Expected or Intended Injury
• Liquor Liability
• Workers Compensation
• Pollution
• Aircraft, Auto, or Watercraft
• Mobile Equipment
• War
• Damage to Property
• Recall of Products, Work, or Impaired Property
• Distribution of Material in Violation of Statutes

Coverage B–Personal and Advertising Injury Liability and Coverage C–Medical Payments are subject to separate exclusions. Some are similar or identical to the ones listed above.

Always review the coverage form carefully for other limitations and details of the exclusions.

CONDITIONS

Conditions are obligations you owe the insurance company as well as obligations the insurance company owes you when a loss occurs. The following is a partial list:

• Bankruptcy
• Duties in the Event of Occurrence, Offense, Claim, or Suit
• Legal Action Against Us
• Other Insurance
• Premium Audit
• Representations
• Separation of Insureds
• Transfer of Rights of Recovery Against Others to Us
• When We Do Not Renew

ENDORSEMENTS

The ISO CGL Coverage Forms may have to be modified for a specific risk. There are a number of endorsements available that broaden, limit, or exclude coverage.

Note to subscribers:

Related Article: ISO Commercial General Liability Coverage Forms Endorsements Checklist

REPRINT PERMISSION

PF&M subscribers in any manual or electronic form are permitted to reprint any portion of this brochure for their commercial insurance customers. Other uses require permission from The Rough Notes Company, Inc.