Commercial General Liability Insurance is a common insurance policy that is used in business to protect from accidents.
The standard policy does not cover intentional actions by the insured.
Doing actions on purpose versus on accident is a valid reason for an insurance company to deny coverage.
Let us look at some common actions that individuals and companies sometimes do on purpose and see if there is coverage or of coverage can be found for this exposure.
Intentional acts against the person: We see almost every day in our daily newspapers intentional acts of assault and/or battery from individuals of all walks of life.
Punching somebody in the face on purpose is an assault or touching somebody without their permission can be a battery.
Normally industries such as bars and taverns and nightclubs, etc.
have these coverages specifically excluded in their general liability policy.
Another common intentional on purpose action that we see in the media is that of false imprisonment.
This loss can arise when the insured has unlawfully detained someone from their liberty to leave the premises.
False imprisonment claims typically occur at large retail chains were somebody is detained for questioning for a possible theft of property from the store.
In summary, these intentional acts that we see on a daily basis in the media are normally not covered under the basic commercial general liability insurance policy.
It is important for you as the business owner to investigate whether or not your specific insurance policy has been extended to provide the needed coverages for these exposures.