General Liability Insurance
It’s a simple reality that anyone who comes into contact with you or your employees while you’re conducting business can file a claim or lawsuit against you for any number of reasons — from physical injuries to wrongful termination.
Business General Liability Insurance in Texas
That’s why Daniel Medina Insurance offers small business general liability insurance, which can help with challenging situations and the associated costs of legal defense and legal damages, up to policy limits selected for covered claims.
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General Liability Insurance discounts
Check out a few of Daniel Medina’s Insurance discounts aimed at lowering your Business General Liability Insurance insurance cost.*Disclosure
Multi-policy
Already have another policy with Daniel Medina Insurance, such as auto, home, renters, RV, or boat? We’ll add a discount for bundling to your Business General Liability Insurance policy.
Safe Driver Discounts
Being a safe rider pays off, and you’ll get a discount if you’ve had no accidents or motor vehicle violations in the last three years.
Here are some business liability risks you may want to manage — and potential solutions:
Injuries
Risk:
A customer trips on a fixture at your business and is injured.
Coverage:
Premises and operations insurance can help with hospital bills and damages — as well as coverage for your business if the customer sues for negligence.
Lawsuits
Risk:
A former client files and wins a lawsuit over work performed by your company.
Coverage:
Products and completed operations insurance can help with the defense costs and — in some cases — the legal damages for which you may be responsible.
Data breaches
Risk:
You lose confidential business and customer data when your computer system is hacked.
Coverage:
Cyber liability and data breach can help provide you with legal and forensic assistance to attempt to recover stolen data, as well as ongoing data security consultation to help you manage cyber risks.
Disgruntled employees
Risk:
A disgruntled former employee — or even an applicant you didn’t hire — brings a legal action against your company.
Coverage:
Employment Practices Liability can help cover your business entity, directors and employees if you are accused of wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination or other employment-related offenses.
UNIQUE COVERAGES
Some popular business insurance options
General liability coverage is just one component in a full menu of business insurance available from Daniel Medina Insurance. Your agent can also discuss coverage options for other possible risks like:
| Risk: | Coverage: |
|---|---|
A small fire in your shop’s work area causes structural damage and destroys inventory. | Business property insurance can help provide coverage to help your business recover from unexpected damages due to covered perils. |
While momentarily distracted, your delivery driver has a fender bender in a parking lot. | Commercial auto insurance can help provide coverage for bodily injury or damage to other vehicles and property for which you or your employees are legally responsible. |
You discover an employee has been stealing cash from the register. | Commercial crime insurance can help provide coverage for your business in the event of a crime. |
What is a Certificate of Insurance (COI) and Do I Need One?
What types of businesses need a Certificate of Insurance?
I often get asked, “Does my restaurant need a COI? My nail salon? My repair shop? My tech company?” It really depends on the needs of your business and customers. I realize that sounds broad and vague, but pretty much any business that provides a service or performs work with a potential for high liability losses could be asked to show a COI.
For example, if you run a popular burger joint, a company with a fleet of cars or trucks, or a tech company with access to a network of other business’s computers, you may be asked to produce one. A business or individual that hires your company to do work—whether it’s building an e-commerce website or painting the office—may also require proof that your business can cover the cost of a liability claim. In other words, just about any business where an employee, customer or another business could be hurt or lose money.
I also know some businesses often include a COI with the proposals they submit for a job or contract—it could be required as part of the bidding process, and it also may give the business an edge over the competition if they don’t have similar coverage.
Is it okay to ask for a Certificate of Insurance from businesses I work with?
Let’s put it this way: I always ask for them, whether I’m hiring a roofer to work on my home or having a tech guy set up a new computer in the office. Certificates of Insurance are a handy way to make sure the businesses you work with are covered.
I also tell my clients to double-check the certificate. Say I’m a contractor working on your home. You request a COI and I provide one. You shouldn’t assume that piece of paper is accurate—even if it’s a company you’ve done business with before. In some cases, I’ve seen businesses alter a COI to make it appear that an expired policy is active or provides more coverage than it actually does. It’s okay to make a few calls to verify the COI.
I tell business clients, if you request to see COIs you should consider:
- Contacting the agents, brokers or insurers who issue the documents to make sure they’re real.
- Making sure the name of the business matches the name on the document.
- Making sure the liability policy limits listed on the COI provide enough coverage.
- Checking the “Effective” and “Expiration” date listed on the COI—is it accurate and does it cover the time the company will be working with you?
- Verifying the COI each and every time you hire a company, even if you’ve worked with the business and checked out their COI before.