Public liability insurance, otherwise known as general liability insurance, will protect against claims arising from injury or property damage of persons other than your employees in the course of your business activities. If your business interacts with members of the public, including any customers, suppliers, contractors or other third persons, you have a duty of care to maintain a safe environment and should buy public liability insurance to protect your business from expensive legal costs and damages awarded by a court.
Consider the circumstances in which you engage with customers, contractors, suppliers, and other members of public. Most businesses will have some level of interaction, either by you visting their premises or them visting your premises. Even if your business is office based, slips and falls down stairs can still mean that somebody is serious injuried and your business maybe required to defend itself against a claim for compensation. It is good risk management to protect the business from potentially high awards if someone is seriously injured and your business is at fault. Public liability cover can be packaged under one commercial combined insurance policy.
Prudent businesses are increasingly purchasing an 'Excess of Loss' policy to provide increased limits for public liability and employers liability and fleet insurance to protect against increased awards in UK courts. If you work within construction or a commercial environment it is becoming increasingly common for businesses to purchase an Excess limit with £15m, £20m or £25m common practice. If you undertake manual activities or you are perceived to work in an industry that is exposed to personal injury claims speak with one of our insurance brokers and we can benchmark how much public liability insurance companies of a similar size purchase.
Public liability insurance will cover compensation claims arising from injury or property damage from any person, excluding your employees, with whom you interact as part of your business. Personal injury claims can be very costly when you consider that compensation can include expenses incurred, loss of earnings, possible loss of future earnings, pain and suffering. Public liability insurance is not a legal requirement to purchase, unlike employers' liability insurance. However, the business insurance is commonly purchased by most companies because it offers cost-effective protection against potential liabilities at a cost-effective premium.
Unlike a certificate of employer’s liability insurance, UK companies are not required by law to display a public liability insurance certificate. At Get Indemnity we can provide your company a certificate if required, as proof your public liability cover.
Awards made by courts or settlements agreed by the insurer will be available for injury or property damage of persons other than your employees.
Access to an experienced law firm to protect your interests and manage the claim is an important feature of a public liability policy.
Cover will start a £1 million and then increase depending upon your exposure. The most commonly purchased limits are £5m and £10m.
Public liability insurance will protect your company against compensation claims and legal costs if a third party suffers injury or property damage while on your premises. The majority of policies offer cover while working away from your premises. This is typically provided to accommodate a wide range of business activities, however sometimes the cover is removed.
Below are the most common public liability claim scenarios: slips, trips and falls, falling objects, inhalation injuries, burns or scalds, dangerous pathways, glass injuries, door injuries, lift / escalator accidents, hazardous objects, whiplash injuries, crashes and collisions, and exposures to hazardous chemicals.
The minimum public liability insurance typically offered is a £1 million limit. However, most businesses or organisations will typically purchase a minimum of £5 million or £10 million limit. Compensation awards for a severe injury have been increasing in the UK. Even working in an office environment, a slip, trip or fall could result in significant costs and damages provided to the claimant.
The cost of your public liability insurance will depend on a number of different factors such as:
At Get Indemnity public liability quotes start at £88 annually or £7.33 monthly. How insurers calculate your public liability insurance cost will depend upon a varierty of different rating factors. The industry you work will likely be the most important determining factor because this will indocate whether manual work will be undertaken. Bodily injury and property damage claims will be more prevelent with industries that operate machinary, work from height, work from depth and work with heat.