Glossary

Bodily injury

Physical injury, sickness or disease suffered by a person, including death resulting from it; the harm that triggers liability coverage for injuries.

Also called: BI, bodily injury liability, bodily injury claim

Liability

In liability policies, bodily injury means bodily injury, sickness or disease sustained by a person, including death resulting from any of these at any time. That is the wording of the standard ISO commercial general liability form (CG 00 01) and the business auto form (CA 00 01). Coverage A pays damages the insured is legally obligated to pay because of bodily injury caused by an occurrence, and the injury has to occur during the policy period. Damages a third party claims for care, loss of services or death resulting from the injury count as "because of" it.

What the form leaves undefined causes disputes. ISO does not say whether purely emotional distress is bodily injury, and courts split, with many requiring some physical manifestation. A discrimination, defamation or wrongful termination claim usually falls outside, and often belongs to employment practices or personal and advertising injury coverage instead. Injuries to your own employees are excluded from the CGL's liability grant and handled by workers' compensation and employers liability.

Paired with property damage, bodily injury defines what the policy pays for. A claim for pure financial loss, such as a client's lost profits from bad advice, is neither, which is why professional liability exists. The guide on CGL Coverages A, B and C shows where bodily injury sits in the policy.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

Property damage In liability policies, physical injury to tangible property including its loss of use, or loss of use of tangible property that was not physically injured. Occurrence In liability insurance, the event that triggers coverage and determines which limit and deductible apply; the ISO CGL form defines it as an accident. Commercial general liability (CGL) The standard business policy for claims that your operations, premises or products injured someone or damaged property, usually on ISO form CG 00 01. Medical payments coverage No-fault liability coverage that pays small medical bills for people hurt on your premises or by your operations, whoever was at fault. Personal and advertising injury CGL coverage for listed offenses such as defamation, invasion of privacy, wrongful eviction, false arrest and copying another's advertising idea or slogan.

Related guides

Inside the CGL policy: Coverages A, B and C How the ISO commercial general liability form's three coverages work: the triggers, the key exclusions, supplementary payments and which limit each claim uses. A commercial truck accident claim, step by step, from the scene to renewal A hypothetical composite walkthrough of a trucking accident claim: scene, notice, MCS-90, liability, physical damage, cargo, excess limits, subrogation and CSA. Insurance for delivery businesses and gig drivers What delivery businesses and gig drivers need: why personal auto may deny delivery claims, what platforms insure, state laws and the commercial auto to buy. Employees driving their own cars for work: who is liable? When an employee crashes a personal car on a work errand, driver and employer can both be liable. Whose insurance pays first, the gaps and a policy to adopt. E&O vs general liability: what each one covers General liability pays for injury and property damage from accidents; E&O pays for financial loss from professional mistakes. Where they overlap and leave gaps. General liability insurance: what it covers and what it does not General liability pays third-party injury, property damage and advertising claims and defends the suit. What the ISO form excludes and what drives price.

Related en español

Cobertura de autos contratados y no propios (HNOA): qué cubre y quién la necesita La HNOA cubre a su negocio cuando alquila un auto o un empleado usa el suyo en el trabajo. Cómo paga, qué excluye y dónde comprarla. Empleados que manejan su propio auto por trabajo: ¿quién responde? Si un empleado choca su auto personal en un mandado de trabajo, él y el empleador pueden responder. Qué seguro paga primero, los huecos y qué política adoptar. Seguro de responsabilidad civil general: qué cubre y qué no Paga lesiones y daños a terceros y reclamos por publicidad, y defiende la demanda. Qué excluye el formulario ISO y qué determina el precio.