Commercial Lines: CGL, Property, BI, Crime, Specialty Coverages
RIBO entry-level (Level 1) licensing exam: Commercial Lines domain (~20% of the scored question count under the January 2025 competency profile). This is preview study scaffold derived from public commercial insurance form conventions and Ontario insurance legislation framework. It is draft content pending review by a human RIBO-licensed subject-matter expert, verify form names, limits, and wording specifics against current commercial insurer wordings (IBC standard forms, ISO equivalents, individual insurer manuscripts) and FSRA guidance before relying on it. ExamCAN is an independent study tool, not affiliated with RIBO; "RIBO" is used here for identification only.
Commercial placement begins with a structured risk survey of the client's operations, not with a quote request. The broker maps exposures, then selects products to address them.
- People exposures, employees (workers' compensation through Ontario WSIB, not insurance), directors and officers, key persons whose loss disrupts the business, employment practices risks.
- Property exposures, buildings owned and leased, contents, stock (raw, in-process, finished), equipment (owned, leased, mobile), property of others in the insured's care, custody, or control.
- Liability exposures, products manufactured or sold, professional services rendered, premises (slip-and-fall), completed operations, pollution incidents, cyber and privacy breaches, contracts.
- Net income exposures, business interruption from a covered property loss, extra expense to continue operations, contingent business interruption from a supplier or customer loss.
- Operational exposures, fleet of vehicles (commercial auto) goods in transit (inland marine), construction projects (course of construction, wrap-up liability).
The output of the survey is the schedule of values and an exposure map the broker uses to recommend specific coverages. A gap at this stage propagates into uncovered claims, which is the classic commercial E&O scenario.
Common mistake: skipping straight from "what does the client want quoted?" to "what is the cheapest market?". The risk survey defines what should be quoted; an under-scoped placement is an E&O claim waiting to happen.
🧠 Memory hook, "PPLNO": People, Property, Liability Net income, Operations, five exposure families to map at every commercial intake.
Recall: What is the broker's first step in placing a commercial risk, quote request, or risk survey? Name the five exposure families.