General Liability insurance for Washington — 9 A-rated carriers, real shopping power
9 carriers writing WA GL today. That's actual shopping power, not a marketing line.
Pathpoint, Tokio Marine, Hiscox, Slice, Hanover, Great American, Simply Business, Blitz, and Semsee Market Access (Travelers/GUARD/Vindati/Nationwide paper) all write Washington GL. Most agencies have 2–3 carrier appointments. We have 9.
Or call (509) 866-6294
↓ Why every WA business needs GLA real GL policy, shopped 9 ways
9 carriers, one quote
Pathpoint, Tokio Marine, Hiscox, Slice, Hanover, Great American, Simply Business, Blitz, and Semsee all shopped at once. Most agencies have 2–3 appointments — we have 9.
The COI your contract requires
$1M / $2M with additional insureds, waivers of subrogation, primary & non-contributory wording — whatever the GC or landlord asked for. Same-day delivery in most cases.
One agent, no call center
Keaton (NPN 21747002) shops every quote personally and stays your point of contact through claims and renewal. Hablamos Español también.
Every WA business with customers, foot traffic, or third-party interaction needs GL
Commercial General Liability is the foundation product for any business operating in Washington. It pays for third-party bodily injury, property damage, products-completed operations claims, personal and advertising injury, and — critically — the legal defense costs that often dwarf the eventual settlement. A single trip-and-fall claim with serious injury can run six figures in defense costs alone before any payout.
Most general contractors and almost every commercial landlord, property manager, and corporate client require their vendors to carry $1M / $2M GL with the client named as additional insured before letting them on a job site or into a building. Without active GL coverage, you are functionally locked out of the contracts that pay. The L&I-required minimums for licensed contractors don't come close to the real-world floor — $20,000 per occurrence is paperwork; $1M / $2M is the floor for actually winning work.
What moves your premium: trade or class code (the single biggest factor), annual revenue, claims history in the last three years, employee count, and years in business. We screen for all of it at quote and route to the carrier with the best appetite for your specific profile.
The six core coverages on every WA GL policy
Bodily Injury
Third-party physical injury arising from your operations or premises. Customer trips on uneven flooring; visitor cuts hand on a display fixture; pedestrian injured by falling signage. Defense + settlement.
Property Damage
Damage your operations cause to property you don't own. Tool slips and dents the customer's car; equipment scratches a finished floor; ladder breaks a window during install.
Products-Completed Ops
Claims arising AFTER the work is finished. A fixture you installed fails six months later and damages property; a meal you served caused illness; a product you sold failed downstream.
Personal & Advertising Injury
Libel, slander, copyright infringement in advertising, false arrest, malicious prosecution, wrongful eviction. Common in marketing-active businesses.
Medical Payments
Small no-fault medical bills (typically $5K–$10K limit) for third parties injured on your premises — paid without litigation. Reduces small claims that would otherwise become liability disputes.
Damage to Rented Premises
Fire damage to a space you rent, typically up to $100K–$300K limit. Common landlord requirement on commercial leases.
The 9 WA-licensed GL carriers we shop
NationGuard quotes WA GL across 9 admitted and specialty carriers via First Connect. Every quote is shopped across the panel — not the carrier whose underwriter you happen to know.
- Pathpoint — E&S wholesaler, the most-versatile carrier in the panel. Underlying AM Best A-rated paper (Markel, Westchester, Nautilus, Crum & Forster). Strong appetite: contractors with adverse loss history, restaurants, bars, lessors risk, vacant buildings, short-term rentals.
- Tokio Marine HCC — A++ XV. ArtisanEdge platform for quality contractors with clean claims, fast quote, instant policy issuance, customizable coverage. Top-tier paper for upscale risks.
- Hiscox — Hiscox NOW for SMB up to $5M revenue, instant binding for GL/PL. Same-day coverage with email policy delivery.
- Slice (PHLY paper) — Insuretech for Contractors GL — artisans, GCs, remodelers. Hard-to-place classes welcome. Quotes in 30 seconds, unlimited instant COIs.
- Hanover — A-rated national, qualification required for risks. Strong financial backing, dedicated UW team. Best for quality small-to-mid commercial needing strong A-rated brand.
- Great American — A+ historical, 150+ years specialty commercial. Mid-market BOP/GL/WC bundle. Best commission for commercial work that actually writes WA.
- Simply Business — Digital marketplace, flat 12% commission, small business GL/PL/Cyber. Avoid for WA BOP (not available); strong for standalone GL.
- Blitz — Tech-driven E&S, quote in 5 min, bind in 10. 80% of risks bypass UW review. Programs include cannabis operators, contractors, retail & services, lessors risk, special events.
- Semsee Market Access — backdoor to Travelers, GUARD, Vindati, Nationwide via Semsee's panel. Effectively four extra carriers without direct appointments.
What WA businesses actually pay for GL
Real 2026 ranges for clean WA businesses with no claims in three years:
- Solo consultant / designer / IT, <$250K rev: $300–$600/year for $1M / $2M GL.
- Small office or service business (2–4 employees): $700–$1,800/year.
- Mid-size service business, $1M+ rev: $2,500–$5,000/year.
- Higher-risk classes (contractors, restaurants, foot-traffic-heavy retail): $3,500–$10,000+/year.
Subject to underwriting approval. Class code, prior claims, revenue, and employee count drive variance.
GL questions we hear most
Yes. An LLC protects your personal assets from your business's contract debts in most situations — it does NOT protect you from third-party bodily injury or property damage claims arising from your operations. A customer slipping in your office, a tool damaging a client's property, an advertising claim from a competitor — all of those go around the LLC and reach the business directly. GL pays the legal defense and the claim settlement; without it, the business pays out of pocket and may go under. The LLC + GL combination is the standard small-business protection setup, not LLC alone.
GL covers third-party liability — bodily injury, property damage, products-completed operations, personal & advertising injury. A Business Owners Policy (BOP) bundles GL with commercial property coverage (your tools, equipment, office contents, business interruption) at a discounted package rate. If you have any physical business location or any equipment of value, a BOP almost always saves money compared to standalone GL plus standalone property. We quote both at every applicable inquiry — Pathpoint, Next, Great American, Hanover, MGT all write competitive WA BOPs.
For a clean clean-claims solo professional with $250K revenue: $300–$600/year is realistic for a low-risk class (consultant, designer, IT). Small office with 2–4 employees: $700–$1,800/year. Mid-size service business with $1M+ revenue: $2,500–$5,000/year. Higher-risk classes (contractors, restaurants, anything with significant on-site customer foot traffic) run materially higher — $3,500–$10,000+/year depending on class code, revenue, and claims history. Subject to underwriting approval. We shop 9 WA-licensed carriers to find the best fit, not just the cheapest premium.
No — that's Workers Compensation, which in WA goes through the L&I state fund for most employers (private-market WC is available in narrow circumstances through Great American, Hanover, or EverPeak via Attune). GL covers third parties only — customers, vendors, members of the public. Your own employees are explicitly excluded under standard CGL forms because employee injuries are the dedicated WC product's job. If you have employees, you need both GL and WC, not GL alone.
Several big categories: (1) your own work product or workmanship — that's warranty, not insurance; (2) employee injuries — Workers Comp; (3) damage to your own equipment — Inland Marine or BOP property; (4) professional mistakes / errors & omissions in services rendered — that's Professional Liability / E&O, a separate product; (5) cyber incidents and data breaches — Cyber Liability; (6) intentional acts; (7) pollution events — most policies exclude under absolute pollution language. Building a complete coverage stack means understanding what GL doesn't do, not just what it does. We map this on every quote.
Need a COI today? We bind same-day.
Vendor portal asking for a $1M / $2M COI before the PO clears? Lease starts Monday and the landlord wants proof? Call (509) 866-6294 or start the form — most certs go out the same day.