Commercial Lines

A form of insurance bought by businesses to indemnify the business for third party liability claims. Coverage can include premises and operations liability for onsite and job-site accidents and products liability claims for products that cause a loss to a third party.

Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways—open perils and named perils.

A form of liability insurance payable to the directors and officers of a company, or to the organization(s) itself, as reimbursement for losses or advancement of defense costs in the event an insured suffers such a loss as a result of a legal action brought for alleged wrongful acts in their capacity as directors and officers. Intentional illegal acts, however, are typically not covered under these policies.

A type of liability coverage designed to protect professionals (e.g., accountants, attorneys, real estate brokers, consultants) against liability incurred as a result of errors and omissions in performing their professional services. Although there are a few exceptions (e.g., physicians, architects, and engineers), most professional liability policies only cover economic or financial losses suffered by third parties.

Provides coverage to employers against claims made by employees or a 3rd party alleging discrimination (based on sex, race, age or disability, for example), wrongful termination, harassment and other employment-related issues, such as failure to promote or wage and hour.

Coverage for motor vehicles owned by a business engaged in commerce. Commercial auto provides coverage that protects the insured against financial loss because of legal liability for motor vehicle related injuries, or damage to the property of others caused by accidents arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, or care-custody and control of a motor vehicle. This includes Commercial Auto Combinations of Business Auto, Garage, Truckers and/or Other Commercial Auto.

Property insurance for property in transit over land. A standard property policy won’t cover equipment or goods once it leaves the scheduled property. Inland marine is designed to cover equipment or property that will move from jobsite to jobsite.

These policies are intended to cover a variety of both liability and property losses that may result when a business engages in various electronic activities and cover a business’ liability for a data breach in which the firm’s customers’ personal information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers, is exposed or stolen by a hacker or other criminal who has gained access to the firm’s electronic network. The policies cover a variety of expenses associated with data breaches, including: notification costs, credit monitoring, costs to defend claims by state regulators, fines and penalties, and loss resulting from identity theft.

A policy that is in excess of specified other policies and also potentially primary insurance for losses not covered by the other policies. An umbrella policy may cover certain risks from the first dollar of loss or liability incurred, which were never covered under the primary policies. Excess pays after an underlying primary policy is exhausted, but the critical difference is excess policies are normally “follow form” policies that conform exactly to the coverage of the underlying policy, except that they add on their own excess limit which is then stacked on top of the primary policy’s limit.