Coverage by Trade

Coverages / General liability

GL · 37 of 37 trades

General liability

Third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from your operations, premises and completed work. Not required by federal law. Required in practice by most contracts, landlords and many state contractor licences.

1234
  1. 1Trades carrying it 37 of 37
  2. 2Highest injury rate 8.5 per 100
  3. 3Lowest of them 1.5 per 100
  4. 4Typical requirer Every trade here
Local messengers and local8.5Couriers and express deliv7.9Nursing care facilities6.3Carpet and upholstery clea5.6Warehousing and storage4.8Waste collection4.7Framing4.6Used household and office 4.3Siding3.2General freight trucking3.1Plumbing, heating and air-3Landscaping services3
2024 recordable injury and illness cases per 100 FTE for the trades whose checklist includes general liability (top 12 of 37), bars to scale against the highest rate on this site (8.5). Source: BLS SOII Table 1.

What it is for

General liability is the policy a client, landlord or general contractor means when they ask for "a certificate". It responds when your work or your premises injure someone or damage property that is not yours: a ladder through a window, a customer tripping over a cable, water from a bad joint ruining the floor below. It does not cover your own employees (that is workers' compensation), your own tools (inland marine), your vehicles (commercial auto), or the financial consequences of bad advice (professional liability). The common certificate asks for a per-occurrence limit and an aggregate, and for the certificate holder to be named as additional insured; the limits are contractual, not statutory, and vary by who is asking.

How it is bought

Trades that carry general liability

Every trade here. On this site, 37 of 37 trades list it, from local messengers and local delivery at 8.5 recordable cases per 100 workers to security guards and patrol services at 1.5.

Local messengers and local delivery 8.5Couriers and express delivery services 7.9Nursing care facilities 6.3Carpet and upholstery cleaning services 5.6Warehousing and storage 4.8Waste collection 4.7Framing contractors 4.6Used household and office goods moving 4.3Siding contractors 3.2General freight trucking 3.1Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors 3Landscaping services 3Drywall and insulation contractors 2.9Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors 2.8Structural steel and precast concrete contractors 2.8Glass and glazing contractors 2.7Specialized freight trucking 2.7Limited-service restaurants 2.6Residential building construction 2.5Janitorial services 2.5Roofing contractors 2.4Tile and terrazzo contractors 2.4Motor vehicle towing 2.3Exterminating and pest control services 2.2Full-service restaurants 2.2Flooring contractors 2Masonry contractors 1.9Nonresidential building construction 1.9Automotive repair and maintenance 1.9Child care services 1.9Electrical contractors 1.8Finish carpentry contractors 1.8Fitness and recreational sports centers 1.8Painting and wall covering contractors 1.6Home health care services 1.6Site preparation (excavation) contractors 1.5Security guards and patrol services 1.5

What to ask a broker

Other coverage types

Coverage descriptions are editorial. Legal figures: 49 CFR 387.9 — Schedule of limits, public liability (eCFR). Injury rates: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Table 1 (2024), incidence rates per 100 full-time workers. Checked 2026-10-23.