General liability insurance covers common premises claims, like a customer who slips on a wet floor. For a bar, the standard form typically carries a liquor liability exclusion that removes coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising from selling, serving, or furnishing alcohol. The exclusion applies even when the claim looks like an ordinary injury.
Where general liability stops and liquor liability starts:
Usually covered: a patron trips on a torn mat, a stool collapses, or a guest is hurt in the parking lot.
Usually not covered: a patron served past the point of intoxication hurts someone inside the bar or causes a crash after leaving.
Often limited: fights between patrons. Even where liquor liability responds, assault and battery may be excluded or carry a lower sublimit, so read that wording on its own.
How Liberty structures your protection: We place liquor liability and general liability together and check that the two forms do not contradict each other on alcohol-related claims. We also confirm how assault and battery is handled before you bind, so the answer is on paper before a claim.
