What Are General Liability Class Codes?

General liability class codes help classify a business’ risk level. Different organizations manage their own classification systems and GL class codes, such as the:

Insurance Services Office (ISO)
National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)
North American Industry Classification System (NAISC)
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)

When you get a general liability insurance policy, insurers can use the ISO classification system, another organization’s codes, or their own classification codes to help determine the:

Risks your employees face
Rates that companies like yours pay for coverage
Coverages companies need in your industry
Exclusions that can affect your policy coverage

If you’re looking to learn more about general liability class code definitions or how the classification system works, you’ve come to the right place.

Why Are General Liability (GL) Class Codes Important?

Without general liability class codes, insurance companies or agents may give small businesses inaccurate business liability insurance quotes. That’s because the class codes can impact a business’:

Insurance cost, since each code has a specific rate associated with it. Generally, a class code has a higher rate if the business operations have more risk. Be aware that rates can vary between states, so general liability insurance costs can change depending on your location.

Coverage and exclusions, since each code applies to the type of work that a specific industry or class does. If there’s a liability loss because a company performed work outside of its industry, an insurer may not cover the claim.

How Do Insurers Use GL Class Codes?

general liability class code definitions

Not every business industry is the same and each company faces unique risks. Insurers use GL class codes to predict a business’ risk level based on its industry and the type of work performed. Your insurer can also use your class code to list specific exclusions in your general liability policy.

For example, let’s say you own a flower shop. When you get a quote for general liability insurance coverage, the insurer will assign your small business a class code for flower shops. After you get coverage, you decide to renovate your storefront and end up hurting someone. Your general liability coverage won’t help cover their medical costs or a potential lawsuit because the renovation work was outside of the scope of work for flower shops.

Insurance companies use class codes for more than just general liability coverage. In fact, they use workers’ compensation class codes when determining premiums for workers’ compensation insurance.

Lookup Your GL ISO Code

There is a GL ISO code for many industries and the specific type of work each business does. For example:

Barbershops – 10113
Consultants – 41677
Florists – 12841
Photographers – 16471
Technology businesses doing computer service or repair – 91555

Whether you’re looking for the ISO code list, NAICS code list or SIC code list, you can visit each organization’s website to look at an online list of general liability class codes.

Get General Liability Insurance Today

If you’re looking for general liability insurance, we can help. We’ve helped over 1 million small business owners get the coverage they need, and we want to do the same for you. Our specialists can let you know what your business’ general liability class code is or help answer your coverage questions. Whether you need a quote or help filing a claim, we’ve got your back.

Get a general liability insurance quote today.