Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance in Ontario

A standard Canadian CGL policy is built around a few core coverages:

• Bodily injury and property damage: a customer slips on your wet floor, or your crew damages a client's hardwood during an install.
• Personal and advertising injury: claims such as libel, slander or certain advertising-related allegations.
• Products and completed operations: injury or damage caused by a product you sold or work you finished, after you've left the job.
• Medical payments: smaller no-fault medical expenses for people injured on your premises, which can settle minor incidents quickly.
• Tenant's legal liability: damage you cause to premises you rent, such as a fire that starts in your unit in a plaza.
• Legal defence costs: the cost of defending a covered claim, even if the claim turns out to be groundless.

Many policies also include or can add non-owned automobile liability (SPF 6), which protects the business if an employee causes an accident while driving their own car on company business.

Knowing the gaps is as important as knowing the coverage. CGL generally does not cover:

• Your own property (building, equipment, inventory): that's commercial property insurance.
• Professional mistakes or advice: that's professional liability or errors and omissions (E&O).
• Vehicles you own or lease: that's commercial auto insurance.
• Injuries to your own employees: that's generally WSIB in Ontario.
• Most pollution, cyber and data breach claims: these usually need separate coverage.
• Intentional acts and poor workmanship itself: CGL may respond to the damage your faulty work causes, but not the cost of redoing the work.

Many small Ontario businesses carry $2 million per occurrence. Contractors working on commercial sites, businesses in larger plazas and anyone signing a lease or contract with a property manager are often required to carry $5 million or more. The right limit depends on your contracts, the size of the jobs you take and how serious a worst-case claim in your trade could be. Read your lease and client contracts before choosing, because they usually state the minimum limit and who must be named as an additional insured. An umbrella policy can add limits above your CGL when a contract calls for more.

A certificate of insurance (COI) is a one-page summary proving you have CGL coverage, your limits and your policy dates. General contractors, landlords, property managers and event venues ask for one before you start work or move in. They often also ask to be named as an additional insured, which extends certain protection under your policy to them for claims arising from your work. We issue certificates quickly so you don't lose a job waiting on paperwork.

Almost every business that deals with the public or works on someone else's property, including:

• Contractors and trades: renovators, HVAC, electricians, plumbers, landscapers, snow removal
• Retail stores, restaurants and service businesses
• Commercial and mixed-use property owners and landlords
• Dental, medical and professional offices
• Home-based businesses that see clients or ship products
• Event vendors, cleaners, property managers and consultants

Premiums are based mainly on what you do (your industry and specific operations), your revenue or payroll, where you work, the limits and deductible you choose, subcontractor use and your claims history. Accurately describing your operations matters: if your policy describes you as a painter and you're doing roofing, a roofing claim may not be covered.