Commercial insurance is insurance for any business activity. You will require insurance whether you have a small at-home craft business or if you have a large manufacturing operation. A business insurance policy can be tailored to protect the owner/shareholders, products, inventory and stock, your property and equipment, your consumers, your income and your operations or services from any lawsuits or physical damages. All businesses in Ontario should have some form of commercial insurance.

Generally, when someone refers to commercial insurance they are referring to Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance. This exists to protect your business when bodily injury, property damage, or other losses occur to a third party. The incident can occur on your business property, in the course of business, or during a business-related activity (such as delivery). Examples of situations your business is covered for: Lawsuits Legal defense costs Court awarded damages/settlements (when you owe the plaintiff remuneration) Property damage Slander Copyright breaches Bodily injuryCoverage for medical payments Reputation Harm Examples of situations your business is NOT covered for under General Liability (other insurance can cover these risks): Injuries to employees Liability claims that are NOT bodily injury to a third party Liability claims that are NOT property damage to a third party Intentional acts to cause property damage or injury Injury or damage caused by operating a vehicle Injury or damage caused by carrying out a professional service or providing professional advice Financial loss due to your service or advice

Selling products to customers means your business is responsible if those products cause injury, harm, or damage. Product liability insurance protects you against any lawsuits stemming from malfunctioning, defective, improperly designed, or harmful items you may sell. Your business is covered for: Defective products Products causing injury Malfunctioning products Improper design that causes injuries

Advertising liability protects you against lawsuits arising from your or your employees’ actions causing damage to reputation or character of a third party. These personal and advertising injury usually means injury, including consequential bodily injury. Example of covered situations: False arrest, detention or imprisonment Malicious prosecution The wrongful eviction from, wrongful entry into, or invasion of the right of private occupancy of a room, dwelling or premises that a person occupies, committed by or on behalf of its owner, landlord or lessor Oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that slanders or libels a person or organization or disparages a person’s or organization’s goods, products or services Oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that violates a person’s right of privacy The use of another’s advertising idea in your advertisement Infringing upon another’s copyright, trade dress or slogan in your advertisement

This coverage protects organizations from the misuse or illegal transfer of funds by employees, ensuring your finances are safe from internal criminal acts. Examples of covered situations: Misuse of client's information Misuse of financial information Fraud Cyber fraud Forgery

By-Law coverage protects organizations from a loss and your building need to be rebuilt to a stricter building code, by-law coverage covers any additional expenses incurred (up to a defined limit). Examples of covered situations: ​Business space is destroyed and needs increased fire proofing Business space needs to be rebuilt under a stricter code