General Liability
Insurance protecting commercial insureds from most liability exposures other than automobile and professional liability.

Professional Liability
A type of liability coverage designed to protect traditional professionals (e.g., accountants, attorneys) and quasi-professionals (e.g., real estate brokers, consultants) against liability incurred as a result of errors and omissions in performing their professional services. Although there are a few exceptions (e.g., physicians, architects, and engineers), most professional liability policies only cover economic or financial losses suffered by third parties, as opposed to bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) claims. This is because the latter two types of loss are typically covered under commercial general liability (CGL) policies. The vast majority of professional liability policies are written with claims-made coverage triggers. In addition, professional liability policies contain what are known as "shrinking limits," meaning that unlike CGL policies (where defense costs are paid in addition to policy limits), the insurer's payment of defense costs reduces available policy limits. Accordingly, when attempting to determine appropriate policy limits, insureds must consider the fact that because defense costs are often a high proportion of any claim settlement or judgment, they must usually purchase additional limits. The most common exclusions in professional liability policy forms are for BI, PD, and intentional/dishonest acts.

Pollution
The contamination of an environment by substances regarded as pollutants. Liability from pollution is normally excluded to some degree by the general, auto, and umbrella liability policies. In recent years, insurers have attempted to introduce strict exclusionary language into these policies, making it necessary for insureds to seek coverage under separate "environmental impairment liability" policies.

Workers Compensation
The system by which no-fault statutory benefits prescribed in state law are provided by an employer to an employee (or the employee's family) due to a job-related injury (including death) resulting from an accident or occupational disease.

Auto
As the term is currently defined in Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), commercial auto and commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies, any land motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer designed for travel on public roads; or any other land vehicle that is subject to a compulsory or financial responsibility law or other motor vehicle insurance law where it is licensed or principally garaged. The term "auto" does not include "mobile equipment." This definition is important in determining whether liability coverage is afforded under an auto liability policy or a CGL policy (in the case of mobile equipment).

Umbrella
A policy designed to provide protection against catastrophic losses. It generally is written over various primary liability policies, such as the business auto policy (BAP), commercial general liability (CGL) policy, watercraft and aircraft liability policies, and employers liability coverage. The umbrella policy serves three purposes: it provides excess limits when the limits of underlying liability policies are exhausted by the payment of claims; it drops down and picks up where the underlying policy leaves off when the aggregate limit of the underlying policy in question is exhausted by the payment of claims; and it provides protection against some claims not covered by the underlying policies, subject to the assumption by the named insured of a self-insured retention (SIR).

Property
First-party insurance that indemnifies the owner or user of property for its loss, or the loss of its income-producing ability, when the loss or damage is caused by a covered peril, such as fire or explosion. In this sense, property insurance encompasses inland marine, boiler, and machinery (BM), and crime insurance, as well as what was once known as fire insurance, now simply called property insurance: insurance on buildings and their contents.

Cyber
A type of insurance designed to cover consumers of technology services or products. More specifically, the policies are intended to cover a variety of both liability and property losses that may result when a business engages in various electronic activities, such as selling on the Internet or collecting data within its internal electronic network.

Most notably, but not exclusively, cyber and privacy policies cover a business' liability for a data breach in which the firm's customers' personal information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers, is exposed or stolen by a hacker or other criminal who has gained access to the firm's electronic network. The policies cover a variety of expenses associated with data breaches, including: notification costs, credit monitoring, costs to defend claims by state regulators, fines and penalties, and loss resulting from identity theft.

In addition, the policies cover liability arising from website media content, as well as property exposures from: (a) business interruption, (b) data loss/destruction, (c) computer fraud, (d) funds transfer loss, and (e) cyber extortion.

Cyber and privacy insurance is often confused with technology errors and omissions (tech E&O) insurance. In contrast to cyber and privacy insurance, tech E&O coverage is intended to protect providers of technology products and services, such as computer software and hardware manufacturers, website designers, and firms that store corporate data on an off-site basis. Nevertheless, tech E&O insurance policies do contain a number of the same insuring agreements as cyber and privacy policies.

General Liability
Insurance protecting commercial insureds from most liability exposures other than automobile and professional liability.

Professional Liability
A type of liability coverage designed to protect traditional professionals (e.g., accountants, attorneys) and quasi-professionals (e.g., real estate brokers, consultants) against liability incurred as a result of errors and omissions in performing their professional services. Although there are a few exceptions (e.g., physicians, architects, and engineers), most professional liability policies only cover economic or financial losses suffered by third parties, as opposed to bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) claims. This is because the latter two types of loss are typically covered under commercial general liability (CGL) policies. The vast majority of professional liability policies are written with claims-made coverage triggers. In addition, professional liability policies contain what are known as "shrinking limits," meaning that unlike CGL policies (where defense costs are paid in addition to policy limits), the insurer's payment of defense costs reduces available policy limits. Accordingly, when attempting to determine appropriate policy limits, insureds must consider the fact that because defense costs are often a high proportion of any claim settlement or judgment, they must usually purchase additional limits. The most common exclusions in professional liability policy forms are for BI, PD, and intentional/dishonest acts.

Pollution
The contamination of an environment by substances regarded as pollutants. Liability from pollution is normally excluded to some degree by the general, auto, and umbrella liability policies. In recent years, insurers have attempted to introduce strict exclusionary language into these policies, making it necessary for insureds to seek coverage under separate "environmental impairment liability" policies.

Workers Compensation
The system by which no-fault statutory benefits prescribed in state law are provided by an employer to an employee (or the employee's family) due to a job-related injury (including death) resulting from an accident or occupational disease.

Auto
As the term is currently defined in Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), commercial auto and commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies, any land motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer designed for travel on public roads; or any other land vehicle that is subject to a compulsory or financial responsibility law or other motor vehicle insurance law where it is licensed or principally garaged. The term "auto" does not include "mobile equipment." This definition is important in determining whether liability coverage is afforded under an auto liability policy or a CGL policy (in the case of mobile equipment).

Umbrella
A policy designed to provide protection against catastrophic losses. It generally is written over various primary liability policies, such as the business auto policy (BAP), commercial general liability (CGL) policy, watercraft and aircraft liability policies, and employers liability coverage. The umbrella policy serves three purposes: it provides excess limits when the limits of underlying liability policies are exhausted by the payment of claims; it drops down and picks up where the underlying policy leaves off when the aggregate limit of the underlying policy in question is exhausted by the payment of claims; and it provides protection against some claims not covered by the underlying policies, subject to the assumption by the named insured of a self-insured retention (SIR).

Property
First-party insurance that indemnifies the owner or user of property for its loss, or the loss of its income-producing ability, when the loss or damage is caused by a covered peril, such as fire or explosion. In this sense, property insurance encompasses inland marine, boiler, and machinery (BM), and crime insurance, as well as what was once known as fire insurance, now simply called property insurance: insurance on buildings and their contents.

Cyber
A type of insurance designed to cover consumers of technology services or products. More specifically, the policies are intended to cover a variety of both liability and property losses that may result when a business engages in various electronic activities, such as selling on the Internet or collecting data within its internal electronic network.

Most notably, but not exclusively, cyber and privacy policies cover a business' liability for a data breach in which the firm's customers' personal information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers, is exposed or stolen by a hacker or other criminal who has gained access to the firm's electronic network. The policies cover a variety of expenses associated with data breaches, including: notification costs, credit monitoring, costs to defend claims by state regulators, fines and penalties, and loss resulting from identity theft.

In addition, the policies cover liability arising from website media content, as well as property exposures from: (a) business interruption, (b) data loss/destruction, (c) computer fraud, (d) funds transfer loss, and (e) cyber extortion.

Cyber and privacy insurance is often confused with technology errors and omissions (tech E&O) insurance. In contrast to cyber and privacy insurance, tech E&O coverage is intended to protect providers of technology products and services, such as computer software and hardware manufacturers, website designers, and firms that store corporate data on an off-site basis. Nevertheless, tech E&O insurance policies do contain a number of the same insuring agreements as cyber and privacy policies.