Business insurance
The policy your landlord, your clients and your licensing agency all ask to see. We write general and professional liability for contractors, guard companies, retailers and service businesses in Texas and Georgia.
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The short answer
General liability insurance pays when someone outside your business says you hurt them or damaged their property. It covers a customer’s fall in your store, a ceiling your crew damages and a lawsuit over your advertising, plus the legal defense. It doesn’t cover mistakes in professional advice or services. That’s professional liability, and most service businesses need both.
Common limits
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate
Professional liability
Also called errors and omissions (E&O)
State filings
Texas DPS PSB-05 (PSP-05) for guard companies
Markets
150+ carrier partners
General liability covers physical things: a person who gets hurt and property that gets damaged. Professional liability covers the advice and services you’re paid for. A security company that misses a patrol, a consultant whose recommendation costs a client money, a property manager who forgets to renew a tenant’s lease: none of those involve an injury or broken property, so general liability won’t respond.
The two also work differently. Most general liability policies are written on an occurrence basis, which means the policy in force on the day of the accident pays, even if the lawsuit arrives years later. Professional liability is usually claims-made. It pays only if the policy is active when the claim is filed, so switching carriers or letting it lapse leaves a gap unless you keep your retroactive date or buy tail coverage.
As an independent agency, Tree Insurance Agency places both lines and shops each one separately. The cheapest general liability carrier for your class is often not the best professional liability market, and we don’t force them onto the same company.
Most commercial general liability (CGL) policies follow the same standard form, with four main parts.
Medical bills, lost wages and lawsuits when a customer, vendor or visitor is hurt at your location or by your work.
Damage your business causes to someone else’s property, like a water line your crew breaks or a car scraped in your lot.
Claims of slander, libel, false arrest or copying someone’s ad. This part matters for security guards and retailers who detain shoplifters.
Injuries or damage caused by something you sold or work you finished, after you’ve left the job.
Attorney fees and court costs, usually paid in addition to your limit rather than out of it.
Guard and patrol companies are one of our specialties, and liability is where their files get hard. Texas guard companies licensed by the Department of Public Safety must keep general liability in force at all times and prove it on the PSB-05 Certificate of Liability Insurance, countersigned by a Texas-licensed agent. DPS won’t accept a binder in place of the certificate.
Armed guards change the underwriting. Carriers ask how many officers are armed, what training they have and what sites they work, and an armed post left off the application puts every claim from that site at risk. We put it on the application from day one. The full picture is on our security guard insurance page.
Most businesses need proof of coverage before they ever need the policy itself. A landlord wants a certificate before you get the keys. A general contractor won’t let your crew on site without one. A property manager wants to be listed as an additional insured, sometimes with waiver of subrogation and primary and noncontributory wording.
Send us the contract or the request, and we’ll check the wording against your policy before the certificate goes out. If the contract asks for something your policy doesn’t include, we tell you before you sign, while there’s still time to add an endorsement or negotiate the clause. Certificates for existing clients are handled through the client center.
If you rent a space and own little equipment, a business owners policy may give you general liability and property together for less than buying both separately.
Checklist
Underwriters price general liability mainly on what you do and how big you are. Have these ready and the quote moves faster.
For professional liability, also note your current retroactive date. Keeping it when you switch carriers protects work you’ve already done.
1
A plain description of what your business does, including any work you subcontract
2
Annual revenue or payroll, whichever your class is rated on
3
Business locations and the states where you work
4
Years in business and any licenses you hold
5
Three to five years of loss runs from your current carrier
6
Any contract that sets required limits or additional insured wording
Questions
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It depends on your class of business, revenue or payroll, location and claims history. A small office business pays far less than a roofer or a security company. Guard and patrol companies typically start around $2,500 a year for $1M to $2M limits. We quote several carriers so you can compare the same limits side by side.
If clients pay you for advice, design, inspection, security or any professional service, yes. General liability only responds to bodily injury and property damage. A claim that your work or advice cost a client money falls under professional liability, also called errors and omissions (E&O), and needs its own policy.
No. Injuries to your employees fall under workers’ compensation, and the general liability policy excludes them. In Georgia, workers’ comp is required once you have three or more employees. In Texas it’s optional for most private employers, but going without it has real costs. Our workers’ compensation page explains both.
Standard certificates are the quick ones, because they only show coverage you already have. Certificates with additional insured, waiver of subrogation or special wording take longer because the carrier may need to add an endorsement first. Send the contract language with your request so we can check it before the certificate is issued.
An occurrence policy pays for incidents that happen while it’s active, no matter when the claim is filed. A claims-made policy pays only for claims filed while it’s active, for incidents after its retroactive date. General liability is usually occurrence. Professional liability is usually claims-made, so a lapse can leave past work uninsured.
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Workers' Compensation
No.
