{
  "slug": "commercial-general-liability-rate",
  "title": "Commercial General Liability (CGL) Premium Calculator",
  "heading": "General Liability Insurance Rate Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commercial-general-liability-rate",
  "summary": "Estimate CGL premium from revenue or payroll exposure basis and class rate.",
  "description": "Commercial general liability premium is typically rated on an exposure basis — most often revenue (per $1,000 of gross sales) for retail and service businesses, or payroll for contractors and manufacturers. The insurer applies a base rate per unit of exposure, then adjusts with an experience or loss-history factor, and adds any increased-limits factor if you're buying more than the standard $1M/$2M aggregate limits. This calculator lets you pick the exposure basis, apply the class rate, and layer on the increased-limits factor so you can compare a standard limits quote against a higher-limits quote for the same underlying exposure.",
  "formula": "Base premium = (exposure ÷ unit) × class rate; adjusted premium = base premium × loss factor × increased-limits factor.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=commercial-general-liability-rate",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "exposure",
      "label": "Annual exposure (revenue or payroll)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1200000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "unit",
      "label": "Rating unit",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "classRate",
      "label": "Class rate per unit",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.8,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "lossFactor",
      "label": "Loss history / experience factor",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "increasedLimitsFactor",
      "label": "Increased limits factor",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.15,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 3
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "finalPremium",
      "label": "Estimated annual CGL premium",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "basePremium",
      "label": "Base premium (rate × exposure)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "withLoss",
      "label": "After loss history adjustment",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perThousandRevenue",
      "label": "Effective cost per $1,000 exposure",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Annual exposure (revenue or payroll): 1200000 $",
      "Rating unit: 1000 $",
      "Class rate per unit: 1.8 $",
      "Loss history / experience factor: 1",
      "Increased limits factor: 1.15"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Estimated annual CGL premium: $2,484",
      "Base premium (rate × exposure): $2,160",
      "After loss history adjustment: $2,160",
      "Effective cost per $1,000 exposure: $2.07"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter annual exposure (revenue or payroll) ($).",
      "Enter rating unit ($).",
      "Enter class rate per unit ($).",
      "Enter loss history / experience factor.",
      "Enter increased limits factor.",
      "Read your estimated annual cgl premium on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "exposure": 720000,
        "unit": 600,
        "classRate": 1.08,
        "lossFactor": 0.6,
        "increasedLimitsFactor": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "exposure": 1200000,
        "unit": 1000,
        "classRate": 1.8,
        "lossFactor": 1,
        "increasedLimitsFactor": 1.15
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "exposure": 1920000,
        "unit": 1600,
        "classRate": 2.8800000000000003,
        "lossFactor": 1.6,
        "increasedLimitsFactor": 1.8399999999999999
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why is CGL sometimes rated on revenue and sometimes on payroll?",
      "a": "The rating basis is chosen to match how liability risk actually scales for that class of business. A retail store's liability exposure grows with foot traffic and sales volume, so revenue is the better proxy. A contractor's exposure grows with labor hours on job sites, so payroll fits better. ISO class code tables specify which basis applies to each classification."
    },
    {
      "q": "What is an increased limits factor (ILF)?",
      "a": "Base CGL rates are built around a standard limit, commonly $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate. If you need higher limits — say $2M/$4M for a contract requirement — the insurer applies an ILF above 1.0 because higher limits mean more exposure to large claims, though not a linear 2x increase since big claims are less frequent than small ones."
    },
    {
      "q": "What's excluded from a standard CGL policy?",
      "a": "Professional errors (need E&O/professional liability), employee injuries (need workers' comp), auto accidents (need commercial auto), and pollution or cyber incidents (need separate endorsements or standalone policies). CGL covers third-party bodily injury, property damage, and personal/advertising injury arising from your operations or premises."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/workers-comp-premium-by-class-code",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cyber-liability-limit-sizing"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Commercial General Liability (CGL) Premium Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/commercial-general-liability-rate)"
}