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Commercial General Liability Insurance for Startups

Written by the Corgi team

Published 5 min read

Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance, also called general liability insurance, protects your startup if someone claims your business caused bodily injury or property damage. It also commonly covers certain advertising injury claims such as defamation or misuse of advertising ideas, depending on the policy.

For many startups, CGL is the policy that shows up first in paperwork. Landlords, vendors, event venues, and customer procurement teams often require it before they will sign a lease, onboard you as a vendor, or let you host an event.

Corgi offers CGL insurance designed for technology companies so you can meet contract requirements and keep deals moving.

What is CGL insurance?

CGL insurance is designed to respond to third-party claims. It typically focuses on:

  • Bodily injury: A person is hurt and you are alleged to be responsible.
  • Property damage: Someone else's property is damaged and you are alleged to be responsible.
  • Personal and advertising injury: Varies by wording, often includes defamation or certain IP-related advertising claims.

CGL is not the same as commercial property insurance, Technology E&O, Cyber, D&O, or EPLI. If you are a software startup, CGL is still relevant, not because your code breaks, but because your company exists in the real world: offices, meetings, events, deliveries, hardware demos, and people.

Who needs CGL insurance

CGL is common for:

  • Startups signing an office lease
  • Teams attending or sponsoring conferences
  • Companies doing customer onsite work or installations
  • Hardware and robotics companies
  • Marketplaces that coordinate in-person services
  • Any startup that needs to provide certificates of insurance to partners

Even if you are fully remote, you can still be required to carry CGL by a customer MSA, a coworking space, or an event organizer.

When startups typically buy CGL

Most startups buy CGL when:

  • A landlord requires general liability to sign a lease.
  • A customer requires CGL as part of vendor onboarding.
  • A partner requests a COI (certificate of insurance).
  • You sponsor or host events and the venue requires coverage.
  • You do onsite work at a client location.
  • You ship hardware or run demos where physical risk exists.

CGL is often the fastest way to unblock a contract requirement, as long as the policy is structured correctly for certificates and additional insured needs.

What CGL typically covers

Coverage depends on the policy wording, but CGL is commonly built around these coverage areas:

Bodily injury and property damage liability

  • A visitor is injured at your office.
  • You damage a customer's space while onsite.
  • Someone alleges your operations caused an accident.

Products and completed operations

  • A product you sell causes injury or property damage.
  • A completed job leads to a later physical incident.
  • This matters more for hardware, IoT, and companies with physical components.

Personal and advertising injury

  • Often includes claims like libel or slander in advertising, certain privacy or advertising-related allegations, and certain 'idea' or style-of-ad claims. This is not a replacement for Media Liability, but it is a common part of the CGL form.

Medical payments

  • Some policies include limited medical payments for minor injuries, regardless of fault, subject to policy terms.

What CGL often does not cover

CGL is not a catch-all business policy. Common limitations include:

  • Damage to your own property (commercial property coverage, not CGL)
  • Professional services failures (Technology E&O)
  • Security incidents, breaches, privacy events (Cyber)
  • Employment disputes (EPLI)
  • Management and governance claims (D&O)
  • Auto accidents involving owned vehicles (commercial auto; HNOA may help for non-owned use)
  • Intentional wrongdoing or fraud

If your biggest risk is that your software fails and a customer loses money, that is usually an E&O conversation. If your biggest risk is a data breach, that is a cyber conversation. CGL is about physical-world and general third-party liability exposure.

Limits, retention, and what customers usually require

CGL is usually purchased with:

  • Per occurrence limit: How much can be paid for one incident.
  • General aggregate limit: Cap across the policy term.
  • Products and completed operations aggregate: For product-related physical claims.

Many contracts will specify minimum limits and require:

  • A Certificate of Insurance (COI)
  • Additional insured status for the customer, landlord, or venue
  • Primary and non-contributory wording
  • Waiver of subrogation (sometimes)

Common CGL claim scenarios for startups

Examples are not promises of coverage, but they show the types of claims CGL is designed for:

  • A visitor trips in your office and alleges injury.
  • Your team damages a leased space during a move or buildout.
  • You host an event and someone alleges bodily injury tied to the venue setup.
  • A hardware demo causes damage to a customer's property.
  • A shipped device overheats and causes property damage, and the customer seeks recovery.

Even for software-first startups, these scenarios happen because companies operate in physical environments.

Why choose Corgi for startup CGL

Built for procurement and contracts

CGL is often requested by landlords, customers, and venues on a deadline. Corgi is built to help you get the coverage in place and provide the documentation your counterparties need.

Structured for startup realities

Startups change quickly: office moves, events, new customers, and new partnerships. Corgi is designed to support that pace without turning every certificate request into a slow process.

Fits with your full liability stack

CGL is usually part of a broader startup insurance bundle that may include Technology E&O, Cyber Liability, D&O, EPLI, HNOA, and Fiduciary Liability. Corgi can help you align these policies so contract requirements and real risks are covered in the right place.

*Important notice: Coverage is subject to underwriting approval and availability varies by jurisdiction. Nothing here constitutes a binder of insurance or a guarantee of coverage. Coverage is provided only under the terms, conditions, exclusions, and limits of an issued policy. Insurance services are provided by Corgi Insurance Services, Inc., where permitted by law.*

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