Commercial guide
Commercial General Liability Limits for California Businesses
Understand occurrence, aggregate, products-completed operations, contracts, and common $1M/$2M limits.
What to know first
- GL addresses covered third-party injury, property damage, and certain personal or advertising injury.
- Contracts may require specific limits and additional-insured wording.
- Professional, auto, employee injury, and cyber risks generally need separate coverage.
California limits and common starting points
$1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate is common for small businesses. Higher limits or an umbrella may be appropriate for contracts, premises traffic, products, construction, or larger revenue.
These are educational benchmarks, not a recommendation for every applicant.Commercial general liability is foundational but not all-inclusive. It commonly addresses covered third-party bodily injury, property damage, and certain personal or advertising injury claims.
The occurrence limit and general aggregate work differently. Products-completed operations, damage to rented premises, medical payments, deductibles, and exclusions should be reviewed with contracts and operations.
Describe all work accurately, including subcontracting, height, excavation, hot work, products, geographic territory, and additional-insured requirements. Undisclosed operations can create underwriting and claim problems.