What general liability does
General liability pays when your work injures someone else or damages someone else's property — a client trips over your cords, a ladder dents a customer's car, a pipe you installed lets go and ruins a floor. It covers settlements and judgments, and just as importantly for a small contractor, it pays for your legal defense while a claim is sorted out.
It is also the policy your contracts are talking about. When a GC's insurance requirements say "commercial general liability," this is the line they will check first — limits, endorsements, and all.
Who needs it in Florida
Any contractor who steps onto a client's property. GCs, property managers, HOAs, and commercial clients require GL contractually before work starts, and several Florida trade licenses require proof of liability coverage to pull permits. If you sign contracts that set minimum limits or ask to be named as additional insured, they are describing this policy.
What it covers
- Bodily injury to third parties — a customer or passerby gets hurt
- Damage to other people's property during your work
- Personal and advertising injury — libel, slander, copyright claims
- Legal defense costs for covered claims
- Completed operations — claims that surface after the job is finished
What it doesn't cover
- Fixing your own faulty work — the workmanship itself is on you
- Injuries to your employees — that's workers' comp
- Damage to property in your care, custody, or control
- Claims about your professional advice or designs — that's E&O
- Intentional acts and damage you expected or planned
The limits question — answered
Your limits are written as two numbers: per occurrence / general aggregate. This is the first thing a GC's office checks on your certificate, and the wrong tier gets bids bounced. What the tiers mean in Florida commercial work:
Meets some residential and small-job requirements — but many GC contracts reject it outright. Fine for your first season, not for commercial work.
What most Florida GCs and commercial clients require, usually with additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements. This is what most of our contractors carry.
Bigger GCs, municipal jobs, and high-value projects. The usual route up is $1M / $2M of GL plus a commercial umbrella — typically the cheapest way to reach higher limits.
GCs also check your separate products-completed operations aggregate — we make sure both numbers on your certificate match your contract, not just the headline limits.
What your GL premium is based on
Carriers rate GL mainly on what you do and how much of it you do — your trade classification and your annual revenue in that trade. Everything below nudges the number up or down:
- Your trade — roofing, concrete, and electrical rate very differently from painting or cleaning
- Annual revenue and payroll in each trade you perform
- The work itself — heights, hot work, and structural work raise rates
- Your claims history over the past three to five years
- The limits you choose — and how much of your work flows through subcontractors
You're finishing a remodel when a pipe your crew soldered lets go overnight and floods the client's new hardwood. The floor and cabinet repairs land on your GL policy — not your operating account. And because your limits and endorsements matched the GC's contract the first time, the job — and the relationship — carry on.
Questions contractors ask us
What limits do GCs actually require?
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the Florida commercial standard, often with additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements. Send us the insurance section of your contract before you sign — we'll match the policy to it line by line.
Does GL cover my subcontractors' mistakes?
Your policy covers your company's liability — including, in many cases, liability passed up from your subs' work. But subs still need their own GL, and GCs will demand their COIs too. If your sub is uninsured, their claim problem becomes your claim.
What's an additional insured endorsement?
It extends your policy's protection to the GC or property owner named in your contract — the most common endorsement GCs request. It's inexpensive, but it has to be added correctly and listed properly on your certificate — which is why we review your insurance packet free before you send it.
Does GL cover me after the job is done?
Yes — completed operations coverage responds to claims arising from work you've finished, as long as your policy is in force when the damage happens. It's one reason keeping continuous coverage matters even between jobs.