Comprehensive General Liability (CGL)

Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) Insurance is a broad-form liability policy that bundles multiple liability coverages into a single policy. Typically, CGL combines Public Liability, Product Liability, and Completed Operations Liability into one comprehensive package. CGL policies originated in the US market and have been adapted for Indian businesses by major insurers. CGL is the preferred liability insurance for medium to large businesses because it provides broader coverage than individual liability policies and is more convenient to manage.

Key CGL Policy Provisions: 1. Insuring Agreement: - Coverage A: Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability (premises + operations) - Coverage B: Personal and Advertising Injury Liability - Coverage C: Medical Payments (no-fault, up to sub-limit) 2. Claims Made vs. Occurrence: - CGL can be written on either basis - Occurrence basis: Preferred by insured — covers incidents during the policy regardless of when the claim is made - Claims Made basis: Requires careful management of retroactive dates and extended reporting periods 3. Key Exclusions: - Expected or intended injury (intentional acts) - Contractual liability (unless endorsed or incidental contracts) - Liquor liability (for alcohol-serving businesses) - Workers compensation and employer liability - Pollution (unless sudden and accidental) - Aircraft, auto, and watercraft liability - Professional liability (E&O) - Recall of products - Damage to the insured's own products (product impairment) - War, nuclear, terrorism - Cyber liability (increasingly excluded — needs separate policy) 4. Important Definitions: - "Occurrence" = An accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions - "Personal Injury" = False arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction, defamation, invasion of privacy - "Advertising Injury" = Misappropriation of advertising ideas, copyright infringement in advertising 5. Aggregate Limits: - General Aggregate (applies to all claims in a year) - Products-Completed Operations Aggregate (separate sub-aggregate) - Per Occurrence Limit (maximum for any single event)

1. CGL bundles premises liability, products liability, completed operations, personal injury, and advertising injury 2. More efficient and comprehensive than multiple standalone liability policies 3. Excludes: Employee injuries, professional liability, pollution (except sudden), cyber, own product damage 4. Available on Occurrence or Claims Made basis 5. Aggregate limit caps total annual payouts — must be set adequately 6. Completed Operations coverage is essential for construction and engineering companies 7. Increasingly required by government contracts and multinational companies 8. Cyber exclusion in modern CGL policies — separate Cyber policy needed 9. CGL is the fastest-growing liability insurance product in India 10. For small businesses with single-risk exposure, standalone PLI may be more cost-effective