Each Occurrence vs Aggregate General Liability Limits

On an ACORD 25 certificate of insurance, the Each Occurrence limit is the maximum dollar amount the insurer will pay for all claims arising from a single accident or continuous exposure, while the General Aggregate limit is the maximum total the insurer will pay across all occurrences during the entire one-year policy period.

You can check an ACORD 25 certificate for free to evaluate all six General Liability sub-limits instantly.

The Six Commercial General Liability Sub-Limits Explained

Standard Commercial General Liability policies written on Insurance Services Office (ISO / Verisk) form CG 00 01 display six separate dollar rows in the upper-right section of the ACORD 25 table:

ACORD 25 Limit Label	Standard Commercial Benchmark	High-Risk Trade Benchmark	What This Limit Covers
EACH OCCURRENCE	$1,000,000	$2,000,000	Maximum paid for bodily injury and property damage from any one accident or event.
DAMAGE TO RENTED PREMISES (Ea occurrence)	$100,000	$100,000–$300,000	Property damage to space rented to or temporarily occupied by the insured (such as fire damage).
MED EXP (Any one person)	$5,000–$10,000	$5,000–$10,000	No-fault medical payments for minor third-party injuries on premises or because of operations.
PERSONAL & ADV INJURY	$1,000,000	$2,000,000	Non-physical offenses such as libel, slander, wrongful eviction, false arrest, or copyright infringement in ads.
GENERAL AGGREGATE	$2,000,000	$4,000,000	Total policy-year cap for all occurrences (except Products-Completed Operations claims).
PRODUCTS - COMP/OP AGG	$2,000,000	$4,000,000	Separate policy-year cap for claims arising out of completed work (CG 20 37) or defective products.

How Each Occurrence and General Aggregate Interact

Think of the Each Occurrence limit as the size of a single ladle and the General Aggregate limit as the size of the soup pot for the policy year. Every time the insurer pays an occurrence claim under Coverage A (Bodily Injury and Property Damage) or Coverage B (Personal and Advertising Injury), that payment reduces the remaining General Aggregate pot for the rest of the policy term.

Worked Example: Aggregate Erosion Across Multiple Jobsites

Suppose Harborview Property Management Inc. hires two contractors to work at an office building owned by 123 Main Street Holdings LLC:

• Metro HVAC Services Inc. carries $1,000,000 Each Occurrence / $2,000,000 General Aggregate.
• Apex Plumbing LLC works under the High-Risk Trade benchmark requiring $2,000,000 Each Occurrence / $4,000,000 General Aggregate, backed by CG 20 10 04 13 and CG 20 37 04 13 endorsements.

Now trace what happens if Apex Plumbing LLC carries a standard policy with a $2,000,000 Each Occurrence limit and a $4,000,000 General Aggregate limit:

1. Incident 1 (March — Elsewhere in the City): At an unrelated jobsite, Apex Plumbing LLC causes a major water main rupture that settles for $2,000,000 (the full Each Occurrence limit). Their remaining General Aggregate for the policy year drops from $4,000,000 to $2,000,000.
2. Incident 2 (July — Unrelated Site): A second accident at another client's warehouse results in a $1,500,000 payout. Now only $500,000 remains in the General Aggregate pot.
3. Incident 3 (October — At 123 Main Street Holdings LLC): A pipe burst during installation causes $1,200,000 in damage at 123 Main Street. Unless the policy includes a Per Location or Per Project aggregate endorsement, the insurer will pay only the remaining $500,000 before the General Aggregate is exhausted.

Why the Gen'l Aggregate Limit Applies Per Boxes Matter

Look at the lower-left portion of the Commercial General Liability row on the ACORD 25 labeled GEN'L AGGREGATE LIMIT APPLIES PER: with checkboxes for POLICY, PRO-JECT, and LOC (Location):

• POLICY Only: A single General Aggregate cap applies across all jobsites and locations where the vendor works during the year. Claims at other customers' properties erode the aggregate available for your building.
• PROJECT (CG 25 03): Equipped with ISO endorsement CG 25 03 (Designated Construction Project(s) General Aggregate Limit), a fresh $2,000,000 or $4,000,000 General Aggregate cap applies separately to each construction project.
• LOC (CG 25 04): Equipped with ISO endorsement CG 25 04 (Designated Location(s) General Aggregate Limit), a separate General Aggregate limit applies to each location owned by or rented to the named insured (whereas third-party construction jobsites use PROJECT / CG 25 03).

Check Occurrence and Aggregate Limits Automatically

Whether you manage COI tracking for property management or subcontractor COI tracking, COIScreen compares every occurrence and aggregate box against your contract preset—and can extract exact limit rules directly from your agreements with our lease and contract requirements tool. Upload a PDF now to check an ACORD 25 certificate for free.