From the Front Lines: Commercial General Liability

• By: Olivia Overman
• June 23, 2025

Brad Berrong

Principal and Producer

Berrong Insurance Agency

Weatherford, Oklahoma

How did you get started at your agency?

I joined my father’s insurance agency, Berrong Insurance Agency, 51 years ago after graduating from Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a degree in business administration. At graduation, I chose to join our family-owned agency, which has been in operation for over 70 years. We were named a Best Practices agency by the Big “I” in 2008 and continue to hold that title today.

Why commercial general liability insurance?

We focus on the oil and gas industry. Most insurance companies consider general liability the cornerstone line of business for an account. Normally, if a company does not consider this type of exposure, it will not accept other lines of insurance for that account. In today’s society, general liability is a wild card because an incidental event can result in a large jury award.

Challenges in the small business insurance market?

I am a generalist. In the past, it was easier because personal relationships mattered. I knew the underwriters at each company, and they knew they could trust my word. Today, we are all subordinate to computer programs, which sometimes may be designed by people who have little experience in the insurance world. Therefore, some of these programs create a dissonance assessing the real nature of a particular risk. In addition, insurance carriers are steering away from classifications that can deliver surprise losses. An enormous amount of business is going to the excess & surplus market instead of standard carriers.

Future trends?

There is a reduction in terms being offered by both standard and surplus lines carriers. I believe this trend will continue and have a negative impact on the standard market. Some examples of reductions in terms can be seen in assault & battery exclusions, firearms exclusions, abuse & molestation exclusions, animal exclusions and limitations on prior acts in a standard CGL insurance form.

Advice for a fellow agent?

If you are in the insurance business, you have no choice but to deal with changes. It is very important to be aware of the coverage that companies are providing in any product you offer and be diligent in reviewing how the renewal coverage may have changed. We have to take the time to discuss—and document in writing—the direction in which coverage forms are moving.

Olivia Overman is IA content editor.