If you run a business in Davie or Forsyth County, general liability is the policy your customers ask about before they ask about anything else. It covers what happens when your work touches other people and their property. Someone gets hurt at your jobsite. You damage a customer’s floor. A claim lands on you for work a sub performed.
North Carolina doesn’t require general liability by statute. Your contracts do. Most commercial work around here doesn’t start until you hand over a certificate.
What it covers
- Bodily injury to someone who doesn’t work for you
- Damage to property that isn’t yours
- Personal and advertising injury, including libel and slander claims
- Defense costs, which on a disputed claim often run higher than the settlement
What it doesn’t cover
This is where owners get surprised, usually at the worst time.
- Your employees getting hurt. That’s workers’ compensation, and North Carolina has its own rules about when you need it.
- Your tools and equipment. That’s inland marine. A general liability policy will not pay for the trailer full of gear that disappeared overnight.
- Your own building and contents. That’s commercial property.
- Anything involving a vehicle. That’s commercial auto.
- Redoing your own faulty work. Damage that work causes to something else is usually covered. Tearing out and redoing the work itself generally isn’t.
What North Carolina contracts usually ask for
Most commercial contracts and RFPs in the Triad specify some version of this:
- $1 million per occurrence, $2 million aggregate
- The client named as additional insured
- Waiver of subrogation
- Primary and non-contributory wording
- A certificate in hand before anybody sets foot on the property
Send us the insurance page of the contract before you sign it. We’ll tell you whether the policy you already have actually satisfies it. A good portion of the calls we get are from owners who assumed it did and found out otherwise after the job was awarded.
Who we write it for
Trade contractors make up most of our commercial book: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, carpentry, concrete, masonry, drywall, painting, excavation, tile, flooring, insulation, and door and cabinet work. We also write manufacturing, distribution, restaurants, churches and nonprofits, gyms and fitness studios, and retail and service businesses.
We’re an independent agency, so we shop your operation across multiple carriers rather than fitting you to whichever one we happen to represent.
Getting a quote
Call (336) 280-4606 or start a quote online. To give you a real number rather than a guess, we’ll need a description of your operations, your payroll or annual receipts, and the insurance requirements from any contract you’re working under.
Safenet Insurance Group is at 157 Yadkin Valley Road, Suite 208 in Advance, and we write throughout Davie, Forsyth, and the surrounding counties.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much general liability do I need in North Carolina?
Whatever your contracts say. $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate is the common ask on commercial work in the Triad, but a general contractor or municipality can require more. If you are bidding a job, send us the requirements and we will match the policy to them.
Does general liability cover my employees if they get hurt?
No. Employee injuries fall under workers’ compensation, which North Carolina requires once you regularly employ three or more people, counting part-time workers and corporate officers.
Does it cover my tools if they are stolen off the jobsite?
No. That is inland marine, and it is the gap we find most often when we review a contractor’s existing coverage.
What is a certificate of insurance and how fast can I get one?
It is the one-page proof of coverage your customer asks for before you start work. For our clients we issue them the same business day, and usually within the hour.
Can I add a client as additional insured?
Yes, and most commercial contracts require it. Send us the contract language, because the wording matters. Blanket additional insured endorsements and scheduled ones behave differently when a claim comes in.