Glossary

Premises liability

A property owner's or occupier's legal responsibility for injuries to visitors caused by unsafe conditions on the property, insured mainly under the CGL.

Also called: premises liability claim, slip and fall, premises-operations liability, premises and operations

Premises liability is the legal duty of an owner, tenant or operator to keep a property reasonably safe for people who lawfully enter it. A customer who slips on a wet floor, a delivery driver who trips on a broken step and a guest hurt by a falling display all bring premises claims. The claimant generally has to show a dangerous condition, that the business knew or should have known about it, and that it failed to fix it or warn within a reasonable time.

State law sets the standard. Some states still sort visitors into invitees, licensees and trespassers; others apply one duty of reasonable care to everyone lawfully present. Comparative fault rules then reduce the recovery by the claimant's own share of blame.

The insurance answer is Coverage A of the ISO commercial general liability form, CG 00 01, which pays for bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence on premises you own or rent. Coverage C, medical payments, pays small no-fault bills whatever the fault. Defense costs are usually the bigger expense.

The common pitfall is a lease. Tenants assume the landlord's policy covers their visitors, while leases typically require the tenant's own general liability with the landlord named as additional insured. The guide on premises liability: how slip-and-fall claims are handled follows a slip-and-fall claim from report to settlement.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

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. Bodily injury Physical injury, sickness or disease suffered by a person, including death resulting from it; the harm that triggers liability coverage for injuries. Per-occurrence limit The most a liability policy will pay for all damages arising from a single occurrence, however many people are hurt or claims are made. Additional insured A person or business added by endorsement to someone else's liability policy so it can claim directly for suits tied to the policyholder's work or premises.

Related guides

Active assailant insurance: what it covers and what standard policies miss Active assailant policies pay for crisis response, lost income and liability after an armed attack that standard property and liability forms may not reach. Assault and battery exclusions What an assault and battery exclusion or sublimit removes from a liability policy, which businesses get one, and how to negotiate, price and plan around it. Premises liability: how slip-and-fall claims are handled How a slip-and-fall claim moves from the incident to settlement or suit, what the plaintiff must prove, what general liability pays, and what to do first. Tort reform and liability insurance: what changes for business buyers State tort reform changes fault rules, evidence and recovery. What Florida and Georgia changed, and what reform does and does not do to your premium. Workplace violence prevention and insurance OSHA has no workplace violence standard, but California and New York do. How a prevention program works and which policies respond when violence happens.

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