Professional Liability vs. General Liability

It is common knowledge that having proper insurance coverage is very important to help businesses avoid risks and financial devastation; what is not so obvious is deciding which policies are appropriate for your specific company. 

There are different types of Liability Insurance that can protect your business as well as the people with whom your business interacts. You may have heard the terms "General Liability" and "Professional Liability" but not know or understand exactly what they are.

“General Liability” typically covers claims of bodily injury and/or property damage. General Liability can be referenced as: 

1. Exposure as work performed physically with your hands or,
2. Performing an act on a physical object. 

For example, if a plumber is repairing a pipe inside of a home and fails to properly tighten the pipes together, resulting in a leak that causes damage to the home, then General Liability would typically cover the damages.

“Professional Liability” also covers bodily injury and property damage that is caused from a non-tangible occurrence. Businesses who carry professional liability coverage’s are paid to perform a certain non-tangible task. If the task if not performed correctly, then that business can be responsible for the damage done. 

For example, An engineer provides a set of blue prints to a home owner to build their pool. The blue prints provided contained errors and flaws affecting the integrity of the structure. If structural damages arise from the design of the blue prints, professional liability would most likely cover this exposure.