General Liability vs Professional Liability: Insurance Terms to Know

Many professionals assume that errors and omission made by them in their work will be covered by their General Liability policy. Actually, General Liability policies specifically exclude coverage for Professional Liability risks. So, what is the differences between these two types of coverage?

General Liability

General Liability typically covers claims of bodily, personal injury or property damage arising out of the operations of your business. It will usually cover the legal fees and costs of your defense, court settlements and property damages. It often will cover a specified amount of medical coverage for those injured on your business’ premises.

It can also protect you against liability as a tenant if you cause damage to a property that you rent, such as by fire or other covered loss. This is usually a sublimit of the policy’s general occurrence limit. So, it is important to make sure you have an adequate amount for your risk.

Some other areas it can cover, are claims of false or misleading advertising, including libel, slander, and copyright infringement.

Professional Liability

In addition to a General Liability policy, professionals will need Professional Liability coverage that can sometimes be add to the General Liability policy but most often will be a separate policy. This will protect the professional against lawsuits for financial losses of their clients arise out of errors, omission or negligence.

Because professionals are expected to have specific training and knowledge in their area of profession, they are held to standards of conduct and service that generalist are not. If they fall short of these standards, they can be held responsible in a lawsuit for the harm they have caused their clients.

Several professionals that need this type of coverage are: medical professional, counselors, consultants, accountants, appraisers, auctioneers, real-estate agents, graphic designers, lawyers, printers, financial planners, notaries, and many others.

If you are a professional, one of our advisors can assist getting you covered today.