Casualty Insurance Basics
The CGL skeleton
The commercial general liability policy covers Coverage A bodily injury and property damage, Coverage B personal and advertising injury, and Coverage C medical payments. It responds to sums the insured is legally obligated to pay because of an occurrence - an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure - and, in the claims-made form, to claims first made during the policy period, subject to the retroactive date.
Key mechanics: the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify and is triggered by allegations potentially within coverage; limits are per occurrence plus a general aggregate and a products-completed operations aggregate; the "your work" exclusion removes defective work but often preserves damage to other property; expected or intended injury is excluded.
Auto and statutory basics
The PAP has Parts A (liability), B (medical payments/PIP), C (uninsured/underinsured motorists) and D (physical damage to the auto). Texas financial responsibility minimums are 30/60/25 ($30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage), and UM/UIM must be offered.
Workers' compensation is elective for Texas employers; those who opt out are nonsubscribers and lose certain common-law defenses, which is why employer liability questions are worded so precisely.
Traps
Claims-made versus occurrence; per occurrence versus aggregate; Coverage B needs no bodily injury; an umbrella sits above underlying limits and may drop down when underlying coverage is exhausted or absent.