Public liability insurance is a type of insurance policy that is particularly popular with salons, shops, and tradesmen.
The insurance coverage covers your business against claims made by members of the public, especially when you damaged their properties.
However, public liability insurance may not be the best insurance option for every business owner. That is why you need to understand the reasons why you need the insurance coverage and when you can purchase one.
Do You Need Public Liability Insurance?
This is the first question you must ask yourself. While the insurance protects you if your business is brought to a court by a member of the public or a client; it may not be the best insurance option for your business.
So, do you need public liability insurance? Several factors must be considered to help you understand the importance of purchasing insurance coverage.
You need to buy a public liability insurance plan if you come in contact with third parties in several ways including:
· If you are looking to accept more work from public organizations and the government.
· If members of the public are often invited to your business premises.
· You need public liability insurance if your business is located in a public area.
· The insurance policy is important if you hold events in public places.
· You need to purchase public liability insurance if you have more work to do on client’s sites.
What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?
Now that you understand the importance of public liability insurance, the next hurdle is to find out the claims that are covered.
Here is some of the coverage provided by public liability insurance:
1. The Insurance Covers those that Interact with Your Business
Public liability insurance is more of an insurance policy that covers both your business and the members of the public.
The first coverage is for the members of the public who interacted with your business. The interactions cut across passing by your business premises and physically visiting your business premises.
Second, public liability insurance covers only your business and members of the public. Thus, your employees are not included in the insurance policy.
2. Public Liability Insurance Covers the Cost of Pay-Outs
If for some reason third parties sue your business, including clients and members of the public (your employees are an exception), you will be forced to pay some financial compensation.
In such situations, you don’t want to run into a liability. The public liability insurance policy can help you pay compensations and offset legal fees accrued by the suit.
3. Public Liability Insurance Covers Business-Related Accidents
Accidents are not assumed. They happen without notice. Your business may be prone to attracting a civil action when members of the public or other third parties like clients/customers are negatively affected by your business-related accidents.
Having public liability insurance coverage beforehand could save the day because the insurance company will settle the reasonable claims made by third parties.
Note that accidents in this context don’t only stop at physical harm to the body. Third parties (members of the public and your clients) can also pursue legal action if they were exposed to illnesses following incidents caused by your business operations.
Some of the instances of accidents covered by the insurance include:
· Accidents relating to your business activities
· If accidents or harm is done to your customers/clients while at your business premises could lead to civil action against your business.
What Public Liability Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Since public liability insurance coverage is particularly for third parties, you don’t want to be caught by surprise.
Here are some of the claims that are not covered by the public liability insurance policy:
· Some business assets (including vehicles and laptops) may not be covered by public liability insurance. Instead, you need to purchase general liability insurance to cover those items.
· Accidents that happen to either you or your employees would not be claimed under public liability insurance.
· Public liability insurance doesn’t cover you if you are sued by an employee because such claims are under the employer’s liability insurance.
How Much Public Liability Insurance Do I Need and What is the Cost?
The amount of public liability insurance coverage you need depends on a variety of factors, including the scale of work you carry out and the risks associated with your type of business.
For example, you may need a lower amount of protection if you work from home or if your business is located in a location that doesn’t have many people passing by.
By and large, some public liability insurers offer the insurance cover starting from £1 Million up to £10 Million.
You may be lucky to get cheap public liability insurance if you visit here.
Protect Your Business with Public Liability Insurance Coverage
Your business premise is susceptible to being sued by members of the public and other third parties such as clients if it exposes them to danger and accidents.
Investing in public liability insurance coverage is a better way to protect your business and members of the public while reducing the additional expenses you could have made if you didn’t have the insurance cover.
Image Source: Unsplash
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