General Liability Insurance
General liability covers third-party injury and property damage from your premises and operations — a customer who slips in your shop, or property you damage at a job site. It's the baseline policy your lease, franchise agreement, and commercial accounts require.
General Liability for Coating Shops
General liability (GL) is the foundation of a bedliner shop's insurance program. It responds to third-party claims of bodily injury and property damage arising from your premises and operations — a customer who slips on a wet shop floor, a visitor hurt by equipment, or property you damage while doing mobile coating work at a client's location.
What GL Covers
- Premises liability: Injuries to customers and visitors in your shop or waiting area
- Operations liability: Damage or injury caused while you work, including mobile/on-site jobs
- Products-completed operations base: Foundational coverage for coating-failure claims (layered with dedicated completed-operations limits)
- Personal & advertising injury: Libel, slander, and advertising-related claims
- Medical payments: Minor injury costs without a lawsuit
Why Coating Shops Need It
Beyond walk-in customer traffic, GL is the policy your landlord, franchisor (LINE-X, Rhino, and similar systems), and commercial fleet accounts contractually require — typically $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, with the landlord or franchisor named as additional insured. Without a certificate, you can't sign the lease or take the fleet contract.
What GL Does NOT Cover
GL does not cover damage to customer vehicles in your care (that's garagekeepers), your own building and equipment (commercial property), pollution from spray operations (pollution liability), employee injuries (workers comp), or your vehicles (commercial auto). It's third-party premises and operations coverage — one piece of a complete coating-shop program.
What's Covered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much general liability does a bedliner shop need?
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the standard most landlords, franchisors, and commercial fleet accounts require. Busier shops or those holding large fleet contracts often carry higher limits backed by a commercial umbrella.
Does general liability cover damage to a customer's truck?
No. GL specifically excludes property in your care, custody, and control — which is exactly what a customer's vehicle is while you're coating it. That exposure is covered by garagekeepers insurance, which we bundle with your GL so there are no gaps.