Business owners seeking General Liability Insurance in Red Bank and throughout Monmouth County, New Jersey put their faith in Blue Lion Insurance Advisors, LLC. We are well-known throughout the state for providing insurance solutions with the right coverage, at the right price with superior service. General Liability Insurance, not required by law but essential for most businesses, is no exception. It is a significant tool for protecting your business from various types of lawsuits that can be devastating not only to your company’s bottom line but to its image and reputation.
An important part of running a business of any size is being accountable to your customers, clients, vendors, subcontractors, members of the community, and even competitors for providing quality products and services and for being fair and honest in all your dealings. If any of the third parties just mentioned accuse you of misconduct, it is upsetting. If they file a lawsuit against you, it can be devastating — costly, both in terms of legal and/or settlement costs and in terms of keeping your business’s reputation intact. General Liability Insurance policies are designed to protect you from just such occurrences.
Reasons for Lawsuits Against Your Business
General Liability Insurance is a fundamental policy for most businesses, even though it is not legally required. If you are interested in obtaining General Liability Insurance for your New Jersey company or discussing other types of Commercial Insurance with our well-schooled professionals, contact Blue Lion Insurance Advisors, LLC for a free consultation.
We have a well-deserved reputation for offering the right coverage at the best price as well as for providing superior client service. Because we are brokers, we offer choice policies from many different insurance providers and owe loyalty only to our clients.
What Is General Liability Insurance?
When most business owners think of insurance, what comes to mind is funding to cover losses after a theft, catastrophic weather, or fire. General Liability Insurance, however, is designed to protect your company from lawsuits that can be just as devastating.
Who May File a Lawsuit Against Your Business?
All companies, no matter how productive, efficient, and honest, are at risk of being sued by third parties, such as dissatisfied, angry, or malicious:
- Customers or clients
- Vendors
- Subcontractors
- Members of the community
- Competitors
If any of these third parties file a lawsuit against you, you may be hit with heavy expenses even if you don’t have to pay a large settlement or court-awarded damages. If you do have to settle
or pay damages, your losses may be dangerously high, potentially leading to bankruptcy, especially if your business is a small one.
As if these financial consequences aren’t troubling enough to contemplate, your business’s reputation is also likely to be negatively impacted. As you no doubt are well aware, your business’s blemished reputation may be the biggest loss of all.
Common Reasons for Business Lawsuits
Though you may think you have friendly business relationships across the board, the reality is that no company is immune to lawsuits. No matter what product you sell or what service you offer, your company is vulnerable to legal disputes that may lead to litigation. Some common reasons for commercial lawsuits include:
- Your business or one of your employees caused someone bodily harm or damaged their property
- A product your company manufacturers or distributes caused someone injury
- Your business or one of your employees damaged the reputation of an individual or another company
- Your business infringed on a copyright or posted misleading advertising
- The negligence of your business or your employee caused someone serious harm
- Your business or employee-damaged property you rent
As noted, whether you are found liable in any of these cases or not, you may have to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs to defend your business assets and your good name. This is why having a strong General Liability Insurance policy to back you up is essential. Contact us to make sure you have the coverage to protect the business you worked so hard to build.
The Coverage a Well-Chosen General Liability Policy Provides
Depending on the type of claim your business is facing, your General Liability Insurance can cover:
- Medical expenses of an individual injured on your premises
- Repair or replacement of rented property your firm has damaged
- Settlement for a copyright infringement, libel or slander, or for false advertising
- Medical and related costs, as well as property damages arising from a defective product your company manufactured or distributed
- Attorneys’ fees for your defense and other court expenses (e.g.witness fees)
Trials are extremely expensive which is why purchasing General Liability Insurance is a cost-effective solution to a looming threat. The more litigious the business world becomes, the more you require the protection General Liability Insurance provides.
Why the Price of General Liability Insurance Varies
As with all insurance, the price of General Liability Insurance varies depending on the extent of the coverage, the insurance provider, and the risk factor the provider assigns to your business.
Factors used to assess the risk factors that can determine your insurance premiums include:
- Your location
- Contracts in place
- Length of time you’ve been in business
- History of prior claims
- The risk involved in the tasks your employees perform
- Whether your company handles hazardous materials
- How many clients or customers are regularly on the premises
- How frequently your staff works on or with third-party tools or equipment
General Liability Insurance can help to provide a safety net when you need it most. Also, some clients may value a General Liability policy so much that they may not want to work with you unless you have one.
How General Liability Insurance Works
While General Liability policies don’t typically have deductibles, they do have limits beyond which they may not pay. In most cases, General Liability policies have two kinds of limits “per occurrence” and “per year.” To protect your business in case a particular claim requires deeper pockets, we recommend that you carry Commercial Umbrella Insurance as well. Umbrella Insurance coverage can help to pay costs over the limits of your General Liability policy.
Be Proactive — Contact Our Dedicated Insurance Advisors Now!
The whole concept of insurance involves having your policy in place before you need to use it. Contact us today to make sure you have General Liability Insurance and all the other insurance products you need before it’s too late. You can trust Blue Lion Insurance Advisors, LLC to make your company’s insurance policy Blue Lion Strong™. After all, we have a century of experience.
While it may seem highly unlikely that anyone will sue your company, almost all businesses, no matter what their size or what product or service they offer, are at risk for one or more of the following claims:
- Your business caused bodily harm or damaged someone’s property
- A product produced or distributed by your company caused someone harm
- Your business or employee damaged an individual’s or another company’s reputation
- Your business infringed on a copyright or posted misleading advertising
- Negligence on the part of your business or employee caused someone serious injury
- Your business or employee damaged property you rent
Because settlements for such lawsuits, if your business is found liable, may be extremely expensive, and because even if you are absolved of blame you may incur high legal costs, it is critical that you have an appropriate General Liability Policy to help back you up. Without this protection, one large settlement may deplete your resources to the point that your entire enterprise is endangered. This is especially true if you are the owner of a small business.
It is important to remember that, even if you win the case and do not have to pay a possibly exorbitant settlement, a lawsuit may cost you a substantial amount in attorneys’ fees, court costs, and the time you invest that keeps you away from your business.
What a Good General Liability Policy Covers
Hopefully, before such a calamity occurs, you will have come to Blue Lion Insurance Advisors, LLC and acquired the protection of Commercial General Liability Insurance that can cover you for whichever of the following applies in your particular case:
- Medical expenses of someone injured on your premises
- Repair or replacement of property you rent that your firm has damaged
- Settlement of a copyright infringement, libel or slander case, false advertising
- Costs arising from personal injury or property damage caused by your company’s defective product
- Attorneys’ fees for your defense and court expenses (i.e. witness fees)
Even if you win the case, a lawsuit against your company will no doubt cost you thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of dollars. It is reassuring to know that General Liability Insurance is here to help, even if the case brought against you proves to be frivolous.
Variable Costs of Business General Liability Insurance
Our knowledgeable team of Blue Lion Insurance Advisors, LLC is well-prepared to find you cost-effective General Liability Insurance appropriate to your needs. As with other types of insurance, the premium you will be charged with will be underwritten based on risk.
Some of the factors underwriting to determine premiums are:
- Your location
- Controls and Contracts in place
- The risk involved in the task your employees perform
- Whether your company handles any hazardous materials
- How many clients or customers are regularly on the premises
- The length of time you’ve been in business
- Your history of prior claims
- How frequently you work on or with third-party tools or equipment
Not only will General Liability Insurance help to provide a safety net when you need it most, but some of your clients may not want to work with you unless you have an appropriate General Liability Policy.
How General Liability Insurance Works
Though general liability does not usually have a deductible, it does have limits beyond which it will not pay. Most general liability policies have both “per occurrence” limits and “per year” limits, defining how much the insurer is committed to paying for a single event or during a single year. For this reason, it is wise to carry Commercial Umbrella Insurance that can provide a higher limit in case of personal injury or property damage. Umbrella coverage helps to pay costs over and above those paid for by your general and other liability policies.
Contact Our Monmouth County General Liability Insurance Broker
Every business can benefit from General Liability Insurance even if not required by law. As you can see from the above content, General Liability is part of a complex network of business Insurance policies, each with its own benefits and its own costs. What you need to make wise decisions about which types of Insurance are right for your business, is the talented team at Blue Lion Insurance Advisors, LLC. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can help you determine which types of insurance you need to protect the assets and reputation of your business. You can also Request A FREE Insurance Quote.