When you own a business, you have to have the right types of commercial insurance. Because there are a variety of different types of insurance policies that you can purchase for a business, it can be a bit confusing or overwhelming to learn about them all. One type of insurance that you might have heard of is general liability insurance, but you might not know much or anything about these insurance policies.

It Might Not Be Required

Employers are often required to have certain types of insurance, such as worker's compensation insurance to cover employees if they are hurt on the job. You could be wondering if you are legally required to have general liability insurance in order to operate a business. Generally, this is not actually required. However, if you are curious, you can check the state and local laws in the area where you are going to be conducting business. This will allow you to learn about the types and levels of insurance coverage that you are required to have as a business owner in the area.

You Still Probably Need it Anyway

Even though you might not be required by law to have general liability insurance for your business, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't purchase one of these policies. Put simply, without general liability insurance, your business is at serious risk. There is always the possibility that a person or their property could be injured or damaged because of operations at your business. 

If this happens, your business could face some serious consequences if you don't have general liability insurance. You have to worry about expensive legal fees from hiring lawyers or potentially being sued, for example. You also have to worry about people who are injured on your property not being able to get the care that they need. If you have general liability insurance, you can be better prepared for bad things that might happen.

It Won't Cover Employees

In most cases, general liability insurance will not cover the cost if one of your employees is injured on the job. Instead, general liability insurance is designed to cover others, such as customers or passersby. Therefore, in addition to protecting your business with general liability insurance, you should also make sure that you have worker's compensation insurance so that both your business and the people who work for you are protected as well as possible, just in case of an accident or injury.