Guides
CGL exclusions: what a general liability policy does not cover
The ISO CGL lists 17 Coverage A exclusions plus a Coverage B list, and endorsements add more. What each removes and where the gap gets filled.
The ISO commercial general liability form (CG 00 01) takes coverage away in two stages: 17 lettered exclusions in Coverage A for bodily injury and property damage, a separate list in Coverage B for personal and advertising injury, and then whatever exclusion endorsements the insurer attaches to your policy. The form is the shorter part of the story. The endorsements are where most coverage disputes begin, because a standard form plus five or six restrictive endorsements is a different policy.
Manuscript and carrier-specific forms differ, and a package may use a different form altogether. What follows describes the ISO form in its 04 13 edition and the endorsements that commonly modify it.
How exclusions work
Read a CGL in order. The insuring agreement grants coverage. The exclusions take some of it back. Many exclusions then contain exceptions that give coverage back again, and the definitions decide what the key words mean. An exclusion that looks absolute can be softened by its own exception, so never stop at the first sentence.
In most states, courts read exclusions narrowly and put the burden on the insurer to prove one applies, while the policyholder carries the burden on an exception to it. A duty to defend can survive an exclusion that is only potentially triggered. State law differs, and this guide is general information, not a coverage opinion.
The 17 exclusions in Coverage A
| Exclusion | What it removes | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| a. Expected or intended injury | Harm you meant or expected | Reasonable force to protect people or property is carved back |
| b. Contractual liability | Liability you assume by contract | Exceptions for liability you would have anyway and for an insured contract; see contractual liability coverage and insured contracts |
| c. Liquor liability | Claims from causing intoxication or serving alcohol | Applies only if you are in the alcohol business; in the 04 13 edition it applies even when claims allege negligent hiring or supervision. See liquor liability insurance and dram shop laws |
| d, e. Workers' compensation; employer's liability | Obligations to your own employees | Belongs on workers' comp and employers' liability insurance |
| f. Pollution | Discharge of pollutants, with narrow exceptions | Needs separate cover: pollution liability insurance and the pollution exclusion |
| g, h. Aircraft, auto or watercraft; mobile equipment | Vehicles and certain equipment uses | Belongs on commercial auto insurance: what it covers and what it leaves out; parking and some exceptions apply |
| i. War | War and warlike action | Rarely the cause of a small-business claim |
| j. Damage to property | Property you own, rent or occupy, and property in your care | See Care, custody and control: why the CGL won't pay for property you hold; part of j does not apply to completed work |
| k, l, m, n. Your product; your work; impaired property; recall | The cost to repair, replace or recall your own product or work | The "business risk" exclusions; l has a subcontractor exception. See products and completed operations coverage |
| o. Personal and advertising injury | Offenses handled by Coverage B | Avoids overlap between A and B |
| p. Electronic data | Loss of, damage to or inability to access data | The 04 13 edition clarifies it does not bar bodily injury |
| q. Recording and distribution in violation of law | Claims under TCPA, CAN-SPAM, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and similar laws | Broadened in the 04 13 edition |
The lettering and the 04 13 changes to exclusions c, g, p and q come from Marsh's summary of the ISO 2013 revisions. Exclusions k through n are the ones that surprise contractors and manufacturers. The CGL responds to damage your faulty work causes to someone else's property. It does not pay to redo your own work.
Coverage B has its own list
The personal and advertising injury part excludes, among other things, knowing violations of another's rights, material published with knowledge of its falsity, criminal acts, breach of contract, goods that fail to conform to advertised quality, wrong description of prices, and infringement of copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret (with a narrow exception for copyright, trade dress or slogan in your own advertisement). It also has exclusions for media and internet type businesses, and for chat rooms and bulletin boards you host. If you run a publishing, broadcasting or online platform business, read the Coverage B exclusions before anything else; see personal and advertising injury coverage.
Exclusion endorsements: where the real narrowing happens
Insurers attach endorsements that remove coverage the base form gives. These are the ones that appear most often. Edition dates differ, so confirm the exact form on your policy.
| Endorsement | Effect |
|---|---|
CG 21 47 Employment-Related Practices Exclusion | Removes bodily injury and personal and advertising injury claims arising from firing, discrimination, harassment and similar practices. Pushes you to Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI): what it covers |
CG 21 49 Total Pollution Exclusion; CG 21 55 and CG 21 65 | Removes nearly all pollution claims. The latter two restore limited exceptions such as hostile fire |
CG 21 67 Fungi or Bacteria Exclusion | Removes claims tied to fungi or bacteria on or within a building or structure |
CG 21 06 and CG 21 07 | Remove data-related liability, including notification and credit monitoring costs. CG 21 06 keeps a limited bodily injury exception; CG 21 07 does not |
CG 22 79 Exclusion, Contractors, Professional Liability | Removes professional services such as design and engineering work, but not construction means and methods |
CG 22 43 Engineers, Architects or Surveyors | A broader professional exclusion, not intended by ISO for contractors |
CG 21 39 Contractual Liability Limitation | Removes the "tort liability assumed" part of an insured contract, leaving lease-type agreements |
| Assault and battery, designated work, designated premises | Usually carrier or program forms; see assault and battery exclusions |
Several of these descriptions rest on broker and legal commentary rather than on ISO's own text, so treat the summary as a map and read the endorsement itself. CG 21 39 matters most in subcontracts: a general contractor's agreement requires you to indemnify it, and the endorsement takes away coverage for that promise. Compare the two using how to review the insurance requirements in a contract.
A new one: generative AI
In January 2026, ISO made available optional generative AI exclusion endorsements for CGL policies, including CG 40 47 01 26. Insurance Business reported on September 16, 2026 that it removes coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and personal and advertising injury arising from generative AI, with a narrower form, CG 40 48, removing advertising injury only. The same report said W. R. Berkley, Chubb, Travelers, Berkshire Hathaway and AIG had each filed to adopt the ISO forms or proprietary equivalents by April 2026. The endorsements are optional, so whether one is on your policy depends on your carrier and state. A business using AI in marketing or customer output should check its forms schedule and read AI liability insurance: how insurers are treating artificial intelligence risk.
A worked example
Say a six-person residential remodeling firm is sued by a homeowner after a bathroom job. The complaint lists four problems (hypothetical):
- A leak from the new shower valve soaked the adjoining hallway and its flooring. That is property damage to other property from an accident, and it is the core of what the CGL is for, subject to the completed operations rules.
- The new tile must be torn out and redone. The cost to repair the firm's own work falls under the "your work" and "impaired property" exclusions, so this part is generally not covered.
- The homeowner says the layout the firm sketched ignored a load path. If a
CG 22 79is on the policy, a design-type claim may be excluded. - Mold appears in the wall cavity. If
CG 21 67is attached, the mold-related damage may be excluded.
The claim is a blend of covered and uncovered parts, and under the duty to defend rules the insurer may owe a defense of the whole suit while reserving rights on the rest; see reservation of rights letters: what they mean and how to respond.
How to review your exclusions at renewal
- Find the schedule of forms and endorsements and list every exclusion form number and edition.
- Compare the list with last year's. New exclusions often appear at renewal with the premium, not as a separate notice.
- Match each one to your operations. A tavern should look at assault and battery and liquor, a contractor at professional, subcontractor and mold forms, a marketing agency at the data and AI forms.
- Match each one to your contracts. A customer or lease that requires coverage the endorsement removes is a problem that surfaces after a loss.
- Ask your broker to price a buy-back, an alternative form, or a separate policy for the gap. The coverage checklist tool in the related links can help list what needs cover elsewhere.
Key takeaways
- The ISO CGL has 17 lettered Coverage A exclusions and its own Coverage B list, and many have exceptions that return coverage, so read the exception as well as the exclusion.
- The "business risk" exclusions mean a CGL pays for damage your work does to others' property, not for redoing your own work or product.
- Exclusion endorsements, such as employment practices, total pollution, fungi, data, professional services and contractual liability limits, change a policy more than the base form does.
- Compare your exclusion list to last year's and to your contracts at every renewal; a gap found after a loss cannot be fixed.
- Details vary by edition, carrier and state; confirm the wording on your own policy.