If in the course of your business activities you encounter customers or members of the public, you should strongly consider taking out some form of public liability insurance.
Public liability insurance covers you for damages and associated costs arising from claims made against you for injuries sustained or damage caused to someone’s possessions or property.
While it is not compulsory for most sectors, it is instructive that the majority of businesses choose to take out some form of public liability insurance. As with travel or home insurance, the outlay to insure against risk is extremely modest when set against the potentially huge costs arising from various scenarios if no insurance is taken out.
You needn’t be an expert to find the right insurance and Staveley Head business liability insurance cover has a number of options to suit your requirements. Simply fill out the step-by-step quote form and a range of options meeting your needs will be suggested.
If in the undertaking of your business activities you inadvertently cause injury to someone – whether a customer or other member of the public – or damage to their property or possessions, then public liability insurance could protect you from having to pay out potentially astronomical sums. It’s not hyperbole to say that certain worst-case scenarios could cripple a small business financially, even to the point of bankrupting them.
The excess you have to pay upon making a claim pales into insignificance when set against the thousands of pounds many claims can run into
As with other forms of insurance, you’ll have to pay an excess of perhaps a couple of hundred pounds when you make a claim, but this pales into insignificance when set against the thousands of pounds many claims can run into.
Of course, chances are, you’ll never need to make claim. But either way, taking out some insurance gives you peace of mind as well as financial protection.
The most common type of compensation claim is when a customer trips over an object on your premises or slips on wet floor where a spillage hasn’t been cleared up.
Another example could be a plumber failing to adequately repair a pipe, leading subsequently to water damage in the property in question. Plumbers, and many other trades, can find public liability insurance specifically formulated for their specific needs.
It’s not just a case of covering yourself for your own incompetence. You could do everything absolutely right and still end up with a valid claim made against you. It’s possible for an accident to be nobody’s fault in particular – but someone must be liable, and it could be you.
Public liability insurance will generally cover you for the following:
- Damages if an individual is successful in a compensation claim made against you
- Legal fees arising from legal proceedings – potentially you can be liable for both parties legal fees depending on the outcome
- Medical costs; the NHS can recover costs related to the treatment of injuries where a business has been found to be at fault
You may have to prove that you have public liability cover to win a contract. If you’re tendering for, say, building work, or to provide a catering service, you might be asked to show a certificate proving as much, particularly if your client is a local authority.
Incidentally, if the roles are reversed and you are subcontracting or tendering a contract out, then you should ask prospective candidates for proof that they, too, have public liability insurance.
As with home or travel insurance, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all policy. Just as a skiing holiday demands more wide-ranging winter sports cover, if your business is engaged in a high-risk activity – for example, an adventure sports provider – you’ll need pretty comprehensive cover to accommodate this.
You should take out cover tailored to the specific requirements and risk entailed in the undertaking of your work. Your premium will be calculated according to the type of work you carry out as well as the level of your activity.
You cannot generally take out cover for an amount smaller than £1m. Believe it or not, some businesses may need cover exceeding even this amount. For example, if you work on government contracts you may well require cover in the region of £5m-£10m.
Before deciding on a policy, be sure to check the exclusions. Are you sure there’s no chance of you ever needing cover for these occurrences?
