Commercial Casualty I
Coverage A - the core
The CGL pays sums the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence in the coverage territory. The insurer has the right and duty to defend, and defense is in addition to limits; the duty ends when limits are exhausted. Defense is often the most valuable part of the contract and a favorite exam point.
Limits architecture
Each-occurrence limit, general aggregate, products-completed operations aggregate, damage to premises rented to you, and medical expense. Know which limits the aggregate applies to: the general aggregate does not apply to products-completed operations, which has its own aggregate, and the fire damage or damage-to-premises limit is a sublimit not reduced by the general aggregate.
Key exclusions
Expected or intended injury; contractual liability, with the insured-contract blanket exception for leases, easements, and municipal permits; liquor liability; employer's liability; pollution; auto, aircraft, and watercraft; your product; your work; impaired property; recall; professional services. Traps: the subcontractor exception to the your-work exclusion, and the fact that your work bars the cost of fixing faulty work but resulting damage to other property may still be covered.
Coverage B and C
Personal and advertising injury covers offenses such as libel, slander, wrongful eviction, and infringement of copyright in an advertisement - not patents or trade secrets. Medical payments is no-fault first aid, one year, small sublimit.
Worked example: two separate slip-and-falls, $300,000 each, each-occurrence limit $1M, general aggregate $2M. Both are paid and the aggregate drops by $600,000.