Liability cover · Coverage
What CGL Insurance Covers — and What It Doesn’t
A CGL policy covers third parties, not your own business. Here are the five things it covers, the add-ons worth knowing, and the four exclusions — each mapped to the policy that answers it.
A CGL policy looks like blanket protection until the day a claim is denied for sitting in the wrong category.
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance covers an Indian business against third-party claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal or advertising injury arising from its operations, premises, or products. This page sets out exactly what falls inside the policy — and the four big things that fall outside it. For the wider picture, see the full CGL guide for Indian businesses.
The short version
- A CGL policy covers third parties, not your own business.
- Five covers: bodily injury, property damage, advertising injury, products, and legal defence.
- Four big exclusions — employees, your property, professional advice, deliberate acts — each needs its own cover.
- Check occurrence vs claims-made before you compare two policies on price.
The five things CGL covers
A standard policy responds to five kinds of third-party claim, plus the legal defence that comes with each.
| Cover | What it protects against |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury | A visitor, customer or vendor injured on your premises or by your operations. |
| Property damage | Damage your business accidentally causes to property belonging to a third party. |
| Personal & advertising injury | Defamation, libel, slander, or copyright infringement arising from your marketing. |
| Products & completed operations | Harm a third party suffers from your product after it has left your hands, or from work you have completed. |
| Legal defence costs | Lawyer’s fees, court costs and settlements for a covered claim, within the policy limit. |
Common add-ons worth knowing
Beyond the base, insurers offer extensions that matter for specific Indian businesses:
- Contractual liability — meets liability you take on in a client or vendor contract, often needed to satisfy onboarding requirements.
- Global / overseas jurisdiction — extends cover for businesses with export buyers or international operations, subject to terms.
- Tenant’s legal liability — accidental damage to premises you lease, normally excluded from the property-damage section.
- Pollution liability — sudden and accidental pollution, which the base policy usually excludes.
What’s excluded — and the cover that plugs it
The fastest way to avoid a denied claim is to know which policy each risk actually belongs to — the same distinctions we draw in CGL vs public, product and professional liability. CGL deliberately routes these elsewhere:
| Not covered by CGL | The policy that answers it |
|---|---|
| Injury to your own employees | Employee’s Compensation (Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923) |
| Professional advice / service errors | Professional Indemnity (Errors & Omissions) |
| Damage to your own property | Fire / Property or asset insurance |
| Deliberate, criminal or fraudulent acts | Uninsurable — excluded by every insurer |
| Pure contractual liability without negligence | Only via a specific contractual-liability extension |
Occurrence vs claims-made
Indian CGL policies are usually written on an occurrence basis: a claim is covered if the incident happened while the policy was live, even if the claim arrives years later. A claims-made basis covers only claims made during the policy period. The difference decides whether old work is still protected — one of the checks in how to judge a CGL policy, and worth weighing before you compare two policies on price alone.
Statutory references (Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923; exclusion wording) to be cleared by counsel. Add-on availability varies by insurer and is described here at category level only.
Frequently asked questions
Does CGL insurance cover product liability in India?
Most comprehensive CGL policies include a products and completed-operations section, which covers third-party bodily injury or property damage caused by your product after sale. Manufacturers and exporters should confirm the section and its sub-limit.
Are employee injuries covered under CGL?
No. Employee injuries are covered under Employee’s Compensation, governed by the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923. CGL responds only to third parties.
What is the difference between occurrence and claims-made cover?
An occurrence policy covers incidents that happened during the policy period, whenever the claim is made. A claims-made policy covers only claims made while the policy is active. Indian CGL is usually occurrence-based.
Does CGL cover defamation in advertising?
Yes. The personal and advertising injury section typically covers defamation, libel, slander and copyright infringement arising from your marketing.
What happens when you talk to us
A 20-minute video call with a Growth Advisor — no obligation, and no quote pushed. It opens with a five-minute video from our founder on how the benefits stack works and why Ethika exists; the rest is your questions. You’ll leave with an honest read on your current cover and claims experience, and a straight answer on whether we can genuinely help — even if you never become a client.
20 minutes with a Growth Advisor. No obligation.
A note on this page. Everything here is general information about commercial general liability insurance in India, not insurance, legal, financial or tax advice, and nothing is an offer. Cover, exclusions and statutory duties depend on the policy wording and your circumstances — for advice about your situation, talk to us.