Commercial Casualty Coverages
CGL architecture
The Commercial General Liability policy covers bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury arising from premises/operations, products/completed operations, and liability assumed in insured contracts. It is written on an occurrence or claims-made basis; claims-made adds a retroactive date and extended reporting periods. Limits include each occurrence, general aggregate, products-completed operations aggregate, damage to premises rented to you, and medical expense - medical expense is paid without regard to fault and sits outside the aggregate.
Exclusions to memorize
Expected or intentional injury; employee injury (workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy - Part One statutory benefits, Part Two employer's liability, Part Three other states); auto, aircraft, and watercraft; your product and your work; pollution (limited exception); and property in the insured's care, custody, or control.
Other commercial casualty lines
Commercial auto (liability, physical damage, hired and non-owned autos), workers' compensation, umbrella/excess (sits over a self-insured retention), professional liability/E&O (errors in service, not bodily injury), EPLI, and the BOP - a packaged property-plus-liability policy for small, low-hazard businesses that includes business income.
Traps
Confusing occurrence with claims-made triggers; assuming the CGL defends employees injured on the job; assuming products-completed operations shares the general aggregate (it has its own); assuming all contracts are covered (only insured contracts are).
Rule of thumb
Follow the injury: an injured worker → workers' compensation; a customer slipping in the store → premises liability; a defective item sold months ago → products-completed operations.
Worked example. A customer slips in a store and an employee is hurt in the same fall. The customer's claim falls under CGL premises/operations; the employee's injury is excluded and belongs to workers' compensation.