If you’re starting, purchasing or already running a business, people will start talking about Public Liability Insurance – also referred to as Public and Products Liability Insurance as they are usually combined, which is vital for business owners who interact with the public either directly or indirectly.
But what exactly is Public and Products Liability and why do you need it?
Public and Products Liability Insurance covers legal related expenses (including compensation) that you may be liable for, in the event of:
Injury of a third party (not a worker) including customers/clients, delivery people or the general public
Property damage
Issues relating to a product manufactured, imported or sold arising from your business activities. This also includes food and beverages.
Whilst the product component may often seem irrelevant to many businesses it can be easy to overlook how this could apply to your business. For example, even though we don’t manufacture or sell physical products, if we gave one of our Strive Insurance branded pens to a client and their child got their hands on it and poked themselves in the eye, our Public & Products Liability insurance would cover us for the costs we may be liable for.
Sometimes there will be a contractual requirement for you to hold Public Liability – and often to even produce your Certificate of Currency. For example, prior to signing a commercial lease or applying for Government tenders or funding.
It can also be vital from a reputational and financial point of view. Claims for injury or property damage can be very expensive, stressful, and require significant time and resourcing. Drawn-out court or legal processes can impact your operations. Many clients – even individuals – will prefer to engage with a service provider who has the right type of insurance cover in case something goes wrong.
It’s important for your Insurance Broker or Insurance Company to have a good understanding of your business and business activities. Public and Products Liability Insurance can have many different types of variations that will depend on your business’ specific needs.
If your business hosts or participates in events such as market stalls, fairs, trade shows, club activities, business shows, and exhibitions, Event Liability Insurance would also be recommended. This is another type of insurance that can also include public liability cover for either one-off (one-off policy) or regular events (annual policy) and it can also cover any cancellation fees you may incur relating to the events.
