What is public liability insurance, and do you need it for your business?
If you run a business, it’s essential that you are fully covered by insurance. This is especially true if your business involves providing services to members of the public. Public Liability Insurance is designed to protect against claims made by third parties who have been injured as a result of your actions or those of your employees. A lack of public liability cover could leave you open to being sued for personal injury or damages caused on site.
What is Public Liability Insurance?
Public liability insurance is a form of coverage that protects you from legal claims made by third parties in the event that they suffer bodily injury or property damage while on your premises, at your offices, or during one of your business-related events.
If you’re the type of business owner who tends to have clients or customers visiting on an infrequent basis—for example, if you run an antique shop and have clients come in sometimes but don’t have any ongoing Business Interruption Insurance relationships with them—then public liability insurance may not be necessary for your business. However, if your company has a lot more visitors than just one-off customers (such as with a hair salon), then public liability coverage is absolutely something worth considering.
The broadest form of public liability insurance provides protection against bodily injury claims from all third parties and their legal costs. This means it covers everything from slips and falls through to injuries caused by faulty products sold by your company.
The best way to understand what else this type of policy protects against is by looking at some examples:
Why Do You Need It?
You will need public liability insurance if you are sued for whatever reason. If you have been sued and the court finds in favour of the plaintiff, they can enforce a claim on your assets, including your personal assets such as money in savings or property you own. You may also be liable for damages which could include:
- Counselling costs
- Damages to property
- Costs incurred by the other party's legal team (for example, lawyers' fees)
If this happens and you do not have public liability insurance then it is likely that these costs will fall on your business instead.
Where Can You Get It?
The best place to get public liability insurance is from an insurance broker. Insurance brokers are professionals who work with you to find you the right policy and get a good deal. They have an experience that makes them better able than anyone else at finding the right policy for your business, and they can also negotiate on your behalf so that you can pay less for it than if you searched on your own or went through an online provider. Once you've found the right policy, it's important that it be reputable and reliable—this is why it's important to find an experienced broker instead of going straight through a company or website like some kind of discount-shopping superhero!
Finally, don't forget about getting enough coverage—and getting cheap coverage doesn't mean taking something too small! It's easy when shopping around online or with other agents/brokers who aren't as knowledgeable about what exactly goes into these kinds of policies (or how much money they're worth), but once again: Always trust in experts like those found at companies like ours because there's no substitute when it comes down to protecting yourself against potential lawsuits due to accidents caused by negligence in any way shape or form.
What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?
Public liability insurance covers you for third-party claims, in case somebody at your business causes an accident. This can be anything from accidents occurring on your premises (for example, slipping on a wet floor), to accidents involving your products (like if someone is injured by a faulty product) to accidents involving employees (getting hurt while working) and contractors (such as if they get hurt while building something).
What Happens if You Don’t Get Public Liability Insurance?
If you don’t get public liability insurance, you can be sued for damages. This is because if someone is injured on your property or their property is damaged and they don’t have public liability insurance as well, they can sue you for negligence.
If someone visits your business premises or hires your services and ends up being injured in some way (such as slipping on a wet floor) that was not their fault, they could sue you under the premise that it was unsafe to use the premises without proper safety measures in place. They may also sue if they are injured due to a faulty product of yours or something related to your business that caused them harm.
Conclusion
If you run a business or have a job that involves the public in any way, you need to have public liability insurance. If something goes wrong and someone is injured or their property damaged as a result of your actions, then this insurance will provide legal defence costs and compensation for damages. It’s an important type of cover for anyone working with members of the public because it can cover past events too (as long as they happened within three years).
Comments
Post a Comment