CGL exposure that continues after products are sold or work is finished.
Products-completed operations is the liability exposure arising after a business’s product has left its control or after contracted work has been completed.
Many businesses assume their liability exposure ends when the job is finished or the product is delivered. In practice, some of the most significant liability claims arise later, when a completed installation fails, a finished job causes damage, or a product allegedly injures someone after sale.
In Canadian commercial liability language, products-completed operations is commonly tied to commercial general liability coverage. The policy may treat ongoing operations and completed work as related but distinct exposure buckets. The claim can arise after the work is done, after the insured has left the site, or after the product has already been sold and put to use.
This is one reason businesses need to understand both the liability grant and the limit structure. A CGL form may apply an aggregate limit to products-completed operations losses, and the wording may treat design, professional advice, product recall, or damage to the insured’s own work differently from injury or damage suffered by others.
The term is especially important for contractors, trades, manufacturers, distributors, and businesses whose work can fail after completion. The exposure is still liability to third parties, but the timing and hazard profile are different from a slip-and-fall during active operations.
A contractor completes plumbing work in a commercial unit. Months later, the installation fails and causes water damage to another tenant’s property. The resulting claim is not about ongoing work at the site on that day. It is a completed-operations exposure that may fall within the products-completed operations part of the liability analysis.
Products-completed operations is not the same as ordinary premises liability for something happening during daily business activity. It addresses liability after the product is out in the world or after the work is complete.
It is also wrong to assume the term guarantees coverage for every cost tied to faulty work. Exclusions, damage-to-your-work issues, professional exposures, and contract wording still matter.
The practical scope depends heavily on the CGL form, endorsements, and the nature of the business. Businesses should not treat the label alone as proof that every post-completion problem is covered.