Insurance that covers a contractor for bodily injury and property damage caused to third parties — required by most clients before work starts.
General Liability insurance, usually shortened to GL, is the baseline policy every contractor should carry. It pays for damage your work causes to other people's property and for injuries to non-employees on or near a job site.
Typical limits are style="max-width:780px;margin:0 auto;padding:48px 24px;font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,sans-serif;line-height:1.55;color:#0f172a" million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate — that's what most homeowners, GCs, and property managers ask for. Some bigger commercial jobs require $2M/$4M or higher.
GL does not cover injuries to your own employees (that's workers' comp), damage to your own tools or equipment (that's inland marine or tool floater), or faulty workmanship on the work itself (that's where exclusions get nuanced and a broker conversation matters).
style="max-width:780px;margin:0 auto;padding:48px 24px;font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,sans-serif;line-height:1.55;color:#0f172a"M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the residential baseline. Bigger commercial work often requires $2M/$4M or higher per contract terms.