Mar 25, 2025
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As a business owner, choosing the right insurance coverage is crucial for protecting your company from financial losses. When researching your options, you might find yourself wondering about general liability vs. commercial general liability insurance. While both terms appear frequently in insurance discussions, they are just different names for the same type of coverage. They both protect your business from third-party claims involving bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury.
In this article, we explain what this coverage includes and how to choose the right policy for your business needs.
General liability (GL) insurance is a fundamental type of business insurance that helps protect your business from financial losses stemming from third-party claims involving bodily injury (not related to medical malpractice), property damage, or personal and advertising injury.
To understand this coverage better, let’s examine the four main types of incidents that GL insurance typically covers:
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance provides the same coverage as general liability insurance. The term “commercial” is sometimes added to emphasize that this coverage is specifically for businesses rather than individuals.
Your CGL insurance can help pay for:
These expenses can add up quickly, and your costs can rise if it takes a long time to resolve a case. Even if your customer drops their lawsuit, you’ll still have legal defense costs, like attorneys’ fees. That’s why having this coverage, whether called GL or CGL, is so important for protecting your business and its assets from financial risk.
There’s no difference between coverage of general liability vs. commercial liability insurance. The addition of “commercial” emphasizes that this is business insurance.
You might encounter both terms when:
What matters isn’t which term is used but rather ensuring your policy provides the right protection for your business. Both GL and CGL policies cover the same fundamental risks:
Understanding that these terms mean the same thing can help streamline your insurance shopping process and help you compare similar policies across different providers.
No, your business doesn’t need separate GL and CGL policies. What’s more important is ensuring that your single policy provides adequate protection for your specific business risks.
The amount of general liability insurance coverage you need will depend on your business. According to Insurance Business, general liability insurance for small businesses costs from $40 to $55 per month on average. The cost (whether paid monthly or annually), called a premium, can vary based on a few key factors:
When evaluating coverage, it’s important to understand that while GL/CGL is essential, it doesn’t cover everything. For example, general liability insurance coverage doesn’t typically cover damages to your own property, professional errors or negligence, employee injuries, automobile accidents, or business disputes. Some of those events are covered by professional liability insurance, such as errors and omissions or medical malpractice insurance.
When choosing a general liability insurance provider, it’s crucial to consider both coverage and company strength. Berxi offers several distinct advantages.
Buying direct from Berxi can save you up to an average of 15% on your general liability insurance plan. Berxi is part of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSIC). A policy from Berxi comes with the knowledge that you’re supported by a company that has the highest possible financial strength rating of A++ from AM Best and AA+ from Standard & Poor’s.
With Berxi, you’ll get:
Ready to protect your business with the right coverage? Berxi is rolling out GL insurance state by state throughout 2025. Check to see if your state has coverage today – and see how much you could save by buying direct from Berxi.
Image courtesy of iStock.com/andresr
Image courtesy of iStock.com/Hiraman
Last updated on Mar 25, 2025.
Originally published on Mar 24, 2025.
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Berxi™ or Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company. This article (subject to change without notice) is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute professional advice. Click here to read our full disclaimer
The product descriptions provided here are only brief summaries and may be changed without notice. The full coverage terms and details, including limitations and exclusions, are contained in the insurance policy. If you have questions about coverage available under our plans, please review the policy or contact us at 833-242-3794 or support@berxi.com. “20% savings” is based on industry pricing averages.
Berxi™ is a part of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI). Insurance products are distributed through Berkshire Hathaway Global Insurance Services, California License # 0K09397. BHSI is part of Berkshire Hathaway’s National Indemnity group of insurance companies, consisting of National Indemnity and its affiliates, which hold financial strength ratings of A++ from AM Best and AA+ from Standard & Poor’s. The rating scales can be found at www.ambest.com and www.standardandpoors.com, respectively.
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Ryan Craggs is a content strategist and journalist with more than a decade of marketing and editorial experience. He helps travel, finance, and tech clients craft compelling narratives that captivate audiences. For more, go to RyanCraggs.com
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