What general liability (CGL) insurance is
Commercial general liability, or CGL, is the business policy that pays when your operations, premises, or finished work injure someone else or damage someone else's property. Insurance Code section 108(a) defines liability insurance as insurance against loss from liability for injury to a person or damage to the property of others.
The same section leaves out workers' compensation and vehicle insurance, which is why a business with employees and trucks needs separate workers' compensation and commercial auto policies. On the files we see in Stockton, the CGL is the policy a landlord, general contractor, or event venue asks for first on a certificate.
A CGL usually does not pay for damage to property in your care, custody, or control, or for your own work product. A shop working on customer cars, or a contractor storing a client's materials, should ask about those gaps. The product page is general liability insurance.
Questions
What does general liability cover?
Injury to other people and damage to their property caused by your business operations, premises, or completed work, under the policy terms. Insurance Code section 108(a) defines the liability class.
Does general liability cover my employees or my trucks?
No. Section 108(a) excludes workers' compensation and vehicle insurance from the liability class. Those are separate policies.
Who asks for a CGL?
Landlords, general contractors, and venues usually ask for proof of a CGL on a certificate of insurance before work or a lease starts.
Sources
- Insurance Code section 108 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, checked October 7, 2026). Definition of liability insurance and its exclusions.
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