Why you need Public Liability Insurance
A simple description of Public Liability Insurance is that it offers cover for any damage caused by the insured/policyholder to a third party person or property.
If you’re a sole trader or run a business, even having high standards of professionalism, diligence and care in place cannot prevent an unexpected accident from occurring. Should this accident happen as a result of something you or your firm has done, then a third party can pursue a claim against you or your company for compensation.
As an example a local tradesman will work frequently in the homes of their clients who have contracted them to carry out repair works. If during the course of carrying out repairs in the clients’ home they smash an expensive set of glass figurines, the client will look to make a claim against the local tradesman. Should the local tradesmen involved have public liability insurance in place, they will have cover for damage caused to third party property.
Another example would be if the same tradesman had left his tools on the floor and these unattended tools caused a third party to trip and injure themselves. If the tradesman has public liability insurance in place, they would have cover for injury caused to a third party.
Without public liability insurance being in place you would have to bear the brunt of any financial repercussions caused as a result of a third party claim.
From those examples I hope that you will see that having public liability insurance in place is beneficial for any tradesmen or self employed contractors. You would not want to find yourself open to the risk of either a property damage or personal injury claim to be brought against yourself or your firm without the safety net of insurance in place.
Should you be starting a new business and have queries on liability insurance contact Insurance Price today for friendly impartial expert advice.
Ryan Hinegan, 01 April 2013