As a business that interacts with customers and the general public every day, public liability insurance is quite essential regardless of your industry and the size of your business. These interactions come with certain risks, and this form of insurance helps to cover and protect you when events tied to such risks happen.
You, no doubt, want to know what a public liability covers and what it doesn't. Here is what you should know.
Bodily Harm or Death
If someone, be it a customer or a vendor, suffers bodily injury or dies while on your business property or as a direct result of your business activities, then you are liable. This also extends to the walkways outside your business premises as well as your parking lot.
The affected party can make a public liability claim against you in these cases. With a public liability insurance policy in place, you can rest easy knowing that you will not have to pay out-of-pocket for the associated medical expenses.
Damage to Property
Accidents happen all the time while you are on a job site in a client's property. It can be anything from a heavy ladder propped too close to a window causing the window to break, to accidental damage to a drywall in the course of carrying out renovation work. In this case, the client will have grounds to ask for compensation for the damaged or destroyed property.
Legal Claims
If a party covered in your public liability insurance policy decides to go the litigation way with their claim, defending or settling the claim will come with legal costs. Your public liability policy will cater to these legal and related expenses.
Exclusions
As regards bodily harm and damage to property, public liability insurance does not cover such harm and damage to yours or your employees' person and property. It is exclusively for the general public. As such, you must have other covers, such as workers' compensation policies.
Similarly, the policy will not cover you when parties bring against your professional liability lawsuits. To cover you in such cases, you will need an error and omission insurance. For professionals in the health care sector, the equivalent of an error and omission insurance policy is a malpractice cover.
In conclusion
There is no law to compel you into getting public liability insurance for your business, except for certain circumstances, such as when you need to obtain a permit to hold a public event. However, as highlighted, there are many advantages to having this policy. For more information about various types business insurance, and what they cover, talk to an insurance specialist near you.
Share28 July 2020
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