Does General Liability Insurance Cover Deficient Workmanship?

Your business is only as good as your employees. When it comes to their workmanship, you could hold liability for their mistakes. Business owners need comprehensive insurance to minimize liability risks.

What happens if your employee does not do his or her job well? When there is evidence of deficient workmanship, business owners face risks. General liability insurance may provide some protection in these situations.

What Happens Matters

Does general liability insurance cover claims from third parties if an employee makes a mistake?

Of course, everyone makes mistakes. When that occurs, other people can suffer significant loss as a result. Sometimes mistakes are minor and easy to fix. In other cases, your entire project may be on the line. In most situations, general liability insurance provides protection. It will provide this protection as long you could not have expected the problem to occur. These types of claims must be for incidents that are accidental and unavoidable.

What Type of Help Does Your Policy Offer?

Most general liability insurance policies will cover losses suffered by third parties. They don’t cover any loss to employees. These policies also do not cover losses that are deemed intentional.

So which types of losses are covered? General liability will generally cover bodily injury or property damage. If another person suffers an injury as a result of an employee mistake, your policy can usually help. It also can help if your client or customer suffers property damage.

What Is an Example?

Let's say your business must build a set of steps for a customer. You have proper commercial liability insurance in place. Your employee accidentally doesn’t install the steps safely, and a customer walks up those steps and falls. He suffers losses from medical bills.

As a business, you’ll be compelled to fix the steps and prevent future incidents such as this. Fortunately, your commercial general liability insurance can likely cover the medical bills. This is critical, as it ensures that the employee's mistake does not limit your business.

Discuss your current business insurance with your agent. Consider whether you have sufficient liability coverage. Discuss the types of claims that can occur. Learn about exclusions to this type of policy. The more information you have, the more empowered you can be. Properly training your employees is essential. It can reduce the potential for these claims.

For more information on getting the correct type of protection, contact Bone Robertson & McBride Inc today.

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