Glossary

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.

Also called: PD, property damage liability, third-party property damage

In the ISO commercial general liability form, CG 00 01, "property damage" is a defined term with two parts: physical injury to tangible property, including all resulting loss of use of that property; and loss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured. The 04 13 edition adds that electronic data is not tangible property, so lost or corrupted data is a matter for cyber coverage.

Say a plumber's faulty installation floods a tenant's stock room. The ruined inventory is physical injury. The week the tenant cannot operate is resulting loss of use. Both are property damage. Contrast a client who loses money because a consultant's advice was wrong: that is economic loss, which a CGL does not treat as property damage.

The definition matters because Coverage A pays only for property damage caused by an occurrence, and the form then trims it back with exclusions: property you own, rent or occupy, property in your care, custody or control, your product, your work, impaired property and recall costs. Property damage under a CGL always means damage to someone else's property. Damage to your own property is a first-party loss for your property policy.

The guide on Inside the CGL policy: Coverages A, B and C shows how property damage fits with Coverages B and C. See bodily injury for the companion definition and care, custody and control for the exclusion that surprises bailees.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

Bodily injury Physical injury, sickness or disease suffered by a person, including death resulting from it; the harm that triggers liability coverage for injuries. 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. Care, custody and control A liability policy exclusion for damage to other people's property that the insured has in its possession or charge, such as a customer's car or goods. Completed operations Liability coverage for injury or damage that occurs after a contractor or service provider finishes a job and leaves, arising out of the finished work.

Related guides

Care, custody and control: why the CGL won't pay for property you hold The CGL excludes damage to property in your care, custody or control. Who gets caught, where courts disagree, and which policies fill the gap. 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. 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. Non-trucking liability and bobtail insurance: what each covers Bobtail and non-trucking liability insure a leased owner-operator's tractor when the carrier's policy does not. Where the gaps are and what the lease must say.

Related industries

Jewelry store insurance Why jewelers use a jewelers block instead of a standard property form, and how theft, customers' goods, shipping and security warranties work.

Related en español

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.