Public Liability Insurance: why should you get it?

Filed under: Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance or, as it is more commonly known, third party liability cover, provides protection for you or your business should a claim be brought against you for damages. Damages in this sense can include any injury that befalls a member of the public  on your property, like tripping over a piece of loose carpet, or any accidental damage that you cause to someone else’s property; dropping tools and breaking tiles. Therefore in order to ensure you avoid this risk to your business, it is essential to search for a public liability insurance quote and policy that covers you for such circumstances.

While public liability insurance is not legally required for sole traders or those who are self employed, it is strongly recommended that they do look in to protecting themselves, especially if they are a sub contractor as the main contractor’s insurance policy will contain a clause requiring them to check their sub contactor has cover in place. This can mean a loss of business if the self employed and small businesses do not have public liability insurance. The general public are becoming increasingly aware of public liability insurance and are looking for companies with this level of cover, especially for children’s activities such as indoor playgrounds or animal farms. Even such businesses as riding schools are required to have this level of cover in order to gain business.

Any public liability insurance policy will protect you and your business in case you are sued for damages or injury. While no business intends to cause injury or damages, accidents do happen and it is better to be protected than leave it to chance and have to find the money from somewhere to pay for any damages awarded. The areas that public liability insurance covers include injury to any person, physical loss or damage to material property.