This quick guide aims to provide you with insight into public liability insurance and how your business could potentially benefit from having a policy in place.
It will also highlight some of the more in-depth, ‘nuts and bolts’ of a policy, so you will have a great starting point if you do make an informed decision to take out cover.
Firstly, public liability insurance is not mandatory for most businesses. However, despite it not being a legal requirement it could be considered essential due to the financial protection it could provide for you and your business.
Public liability insurance could cover you in the event a member of the public, customer or other third-party suffers an injury, illness or property damage due to your business operations. If your insurers agree to support your claim, your public liability insurance would pay out for both parties legal fees and any compensation or damages due.
“What about my employees?”
It is important to note, that public liability insurance will only cover third party claims and not claims related to employees. This is where employers’ liability insurance comes into play.
If you have employees you may already be aware that employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement under the 1969 Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act.
It is also worth noting that if you require employers’ liability insurance it cannot be purchased alone; you would have to purchase it alongside public liability insurance.
Setting the Limits
Ultimately, the choice is yours as to how much public liability insurance cover you take out. It is likely you will make this decision in line with the type of business you run and the limit of protection your trade may require.
If you are unsure about the amount of cover your business requires, you could contact your broker or insurer and ask for a guideline amount for your occupation. Here at constructaquote.com we will not advise you and the level of cover you decide to take out would still remain your choice, however you may be able to gain an insight based on facts of how certain trades calculate their risks.
Common policy exclusions
Most insurance policies will come with reasonable exclusions. These are a few of the more common policy exclusions for public liability insurance:
• Property belonging to the insured
• Defective workmanship
• Damage as a result of any advice, design or specification given unless part of an ‘overall contract’
• Deliberate acts
These exclusions may vary from insurer to insurer. If you are unsure whether a public liability insurance policy covers you for a particular aspect of your business, you should always check this information with your insurer or broker before buying.
Even when every practical measure has been taken, accidents can still happen and some businesses need to bear this in mind, especially if they deal closely with the public.
If you are interested in obtaining a public liability policy, you can get a quotation online by visiting our public liability insurance page. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your business’ insurance requirements in more detail, please don’t hesitate to call us on 08081686868.
If you have found this guide helpful, you may also like to view our employers’ liability insurance guide.
Public Liability Insurance
This guide is part of our series related to public liability insurance, for more guides, or to get a quote, head over to our public liability insurance section.
