Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and accountants, have long been held highly accountable for the consequences of their decisions. While such professions are still the “Big Three,” there are a growing number of other occupations that represent an exposure to liability loss that needs special protection, including pharmacists, architects, engineers, opticians, beauticians, insurance agents, consultants, and many others.

In most instances, a type of coverage called a commercial general liability policy will protect a business against the damage or injury their actions may cause to others. However, this type policy is designed to handle routine, fairly generic, and low-risk activities. Examples are customers who cut their hands on a sharp edge of an office's reception desk or a customer who is hurt when she collides with a clerk who is stocking a shelf. Much more is at stake with professional activities.

Contractors General liability

Commercial general liability (CGL) policy is extremely broad in nature. It insures the bodily injury liability and property damage liability exposures of a variety of commercial businesses, enterprises, and ventures. The broad nature of these forms eliminates having to select and group individual or specific hazards, with the resulting potential gaps in coverage.

These policies can be offered on either an occurrence or a claims-made basis, as a monoline policy or combined with one or more other lines of insurance to form a commercial package policy. The basic exposures of the named insured covered by the CGL coverage forms include:

• Ownership, maintenance, or use of the premises
• Operations conducted or performed on or off the premises
• Written contracts and agreements
• Products manufactured, sold, or distributed
• Completed operations
• Personal injury
• Advertising injury
• Medical payments on the premises or at job sites, without regard to fault