Commercial general liability insurance is a good idea for nearly every type of business, so you want to be as prepared as possible before you call a broker to receive quotes. The documents you must submit to the insurer vary according to a number of factors including the insurer itself, the age and size of your business, the state you are in and the type of coverage you want. While only your broker can give you a definitive list of required documents, there are common guidelines to follow.
Loss Runs
Insurers typically require you to list all of your business's losses for the previous three to five years, along with the date, type of loss and insurance settlement amount. When you accept the quote and apply for coverage, they will usually want loss runs, or loss history reports. These are official reports printed by your existing insurance company that detail information about these prior losses. Most insurers want loss runs printed within 90 days of the application date.
Sales Receipts
Especially for larger businesses with high gross revenues, insurers may want to see evidence of your business's sales volume, sometimes broken down by category. For example, if you run a restaurant, the insurer may want to know the total gross sales, with a subsection for liquor sales so adequate liquor liability protection can be written into the policy. The reasoning for this is that larger businesses have a higher risk of loss, so the insurer wants to verify it is charging an appropriate premium for the size of your business.
Driver Information
If your commercial general liability policy will contain a section for business auto coverage, the insurer will typically want to know the names, Social Security Numbers and driver's license numbers of each of the drivers. Unlike with personal auto insurance, rates for commercial auto liability are not set with specific relation to driving history, but some companies may consider a driver ineligible for coverage due to a poor driving record, or may surcharge the entire policy if the loss history is too high. If you hire or lose a driver throughout the policy period, you must update this information with the insurer.
