What contractor general liability does not cover

General liability, also called GL or CGL, generally covers third-party bodily injury and property damage that comes out of your work and operations. "Third party" means someone who is not you and not your employee: the homeowner, a neighbor, a tenant, someone walking by.

A few everyday examples:

• A client steps on a nail your crew left on the patio.
• Your saw kicks a chunk of tile through the neighbor's car window.
• A fitting you installed fails a month later and floods the downstairs unit.

That last one is a completed operations claim: damage that shows up after you have left the job. It is covered when the policy includes completed operations, and many GCs require that it does.

Hold on to that word, third party. It explains nearly every gap below.

1. Injuries to your own employees. When someone on your payroll gets hurt, that is a workers' comp claim. Every CSLB licensee files a workers' comp certificate or an exemption with CSLB, and C-8, C-20, C-22, C-39 and D-49 licensees must carry it even with no employees. See workers' comp for California contractors.
2. Your tools and equipment. A generator stolen from the site or a laser level that falls off a scaffold is not a GL claim. Equipment is insured on its own.
3. Your vehicles. A crash in your work truck goes to commercial auto. Personal auto policies often exclude business use, so a work truck on a personal policy can leave a gap.
4. The cost of fixing your own work. If a job is done wrong, GL does not pay to tear it out and do it over. Depending on the policy terms, it may respond to damage that bad work causes to other property, like the ceiling under a leaking shower pan.

On top of the four gaps, each contractor program writes its own exclusions and limits, and they often depend on your trade. These are things to look for, not a description of any one policy:

• Work done before the policy began. Some policies will not respond to claims from jobs finished before your start date.
• Earth movement and subsidence. Soil that settles, sinks or shifts. A real concern for concrete, foundation and grading work.
• Height limits. Some policies exclude work above a certain number of stories or feet. Roofers and framers should check this first.
• New residential and tract housing. New homes, tracts and condos can be limited or excluded.
• Uninsured subcontractors. Many policies expect your subs to carry their own GL and name you as additional insured. Without that, a claim from their work can fall outside your coverage.
• Mold, fungi and water. Often excluded or capped.
• Pollution. Dust, fumes and chemicals are usually excluded unless the policy adds them back.
• Contractual liability. If you sign a contract taking on someone else's liability, the policy may cover only part of what you agreed to.

A certificate of insurance shows that a policy exists. It does not show what that policy leaves out. That is how a contractor can hand over a clean certificate and still have a claim denied.

Two common mismatches:

• You sub for a builder doing new homes, and your policy excludes new residential construction.
• Your GC requires additional insured status for completed operations, and your policy only offers it for ongoing work. See additional insured endorsements.

The fix is simple, if not quick: compare the exclusions against the jobs you actually take and the contracts you actually sign, not only the limits. More on what GCs ask for in the certificate of insurance guide.

A higher GL limit does not close these gaps. A different policy does:

Call or text (877) 940-4313 for anything quoted by phone.

On the CalRisk Insurance Center quote board, every GL quote shows its deductible, its limits ($1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate) and what it includes and excludes. You can read the exclusions before you choose, not after a claim.

1. Enter your CSLB license number and answer about a minute of questions about your trade, your jobs and your crew.
2. Quotes from A-rated programs arrive one at a time.
3. Line up the exclusions against your real work, then tap "Submit for approval" on the best fit.
4. A licensed agent finishes it and emails you the final quote to sign. Nothing is bound until you sign.

Exclusions also move price. See what drives GL cost in California, or find your trade in insurance by trade.