Business Property & Liability: Frequently Asked Questions

A: General Liability provides coverage if you are liable for damages to other individuals arising from your premises, general operations, and products manufactured or sold.

A: Business Interruption/Extra Expense coverage provides coverage for income loss and the expense of establishing a temporary site during repairs due to damages related to a fire or compensable loss.

A: Fire legal coverage provides coverage if you rent a business space and are held responsible for fire damages to that rented space. It does not apply to all business risks.

A: Products/Completed Operations refers to the liability coverage for damages caused by your operation or products after the point at which you no longer have control of them.

A: At the end of the policy term, the insurance company will review the policy and either charge or credit the policyholder based upon an audit of estimated figures. Examples of estimated auditable items include sales and payroll. Audits can be performed onsite by an auditor or via mail or telephone. A premium is charged for audit estimations.

A: An audit may require you to show proof that subcontractors had their own insurance coverage. The sub-contractors’ certificates of insurance will prevent you from being charged for their exposure.

A: Named Insureds are those listed by name in the relevant block of the policy’s declaration page. Although the named insured is commonly one person, partnership, corporation, or other entity with insurable interests, multiple named insureds may be included.

First Named Insured is the first “named insured” listed on the policy declarations (front page of the policy). This insured acts as the legal agent for all named insureds in initiating cancellation, requesting policy changes or accepting any return premiums. The first named insured may also be responsible for payment of the premiums.

Additional Insured is an entity to which a policy’s coverage is extended. An additional insured must be added to the policy prior to a claim being paid. There must be a tied to relationship between the additional insured and named insured. Being an additional insured on another’s policy does not eliminate the need for someone to have his/her own Commercial General Liability policy.