During the normal course of business, all businesses are exposed to the potential threat of claims being made against them in respect of their legal liability; these claims may come from third parties or from employees of the company.
Losses might appear on account of property damage, personal injuries or as a consequence of economic loss suffered by the claimant as a result of neglectful advice supplied by the company.
The latter cause is the subject of professional indemnity insurance or professional liability insurance and it is not the intention of this article to address these issues.
The prudent business owner or operator needs to ensure that they are protected against claims from third parties in respect of their legal liability for property damage or personal injury that has arisen out of and in the course of the business. This is the subject of public liability insurance.
A public liability insurance policy offers the policyholder cover against their legal liabilities for property damage and personal injury, where such loss is alleged to have been caused by the policyholder during the course of the business.
It is essential to note that a significant aspect of the public liability insurance policy is the inclusion of defence expenditure incurred in the defence of a claims, whether the action be found to be the legal responsibility of the policyholder or not. The costs of mounting a legal defence is often great, even compared to the cost of many losses, and it is a vital insurance protection for policyholders that it's included in the standard policy coverage.
As public liability insurance is a contract of legal liability, the basic policy wording remains similar from insurer to insurer, but you need to be aware of certain key aspects of the policy to ensure that the cover meets the requirements of your business;
The Limit of Indemnity, this is the maximum amount of the insurers responsibility in respect of claims under the policy. This limit will be selected by you and will depend frequently on contractual requirements placed upon you by your employers.
The Business Description, it's critical that this accurately represents your company activities because it's only claims that occur from the undertaking of this business description and the insurance companies reasonable understanding of a trade or business activity that will be covered under the insurance.
Policy limitations and endorsements, these are added to insurance policies to define the insurers responsibility under the policy for certain activities by perhaps restricting the kinds of work undertaken or else by specifying the safeguards that must be taken when carrying out certain work.
As with all insurance products you must read the document carefully to make sure that it meets with your requirements and you ought to raise any queries straight away with your insurance agent.
A business that employs people may also be subject to claims from employees for injury or damage arising out of their employment. In the United Kingdom, this class of insurance is known as Employers Liability Insurance whereas it is referred to as Workers Compensation in the US and elsewhere.
Employers liability insurance is a compulsory insurance requirement for all employers in the United Kingdom with a few exceptions that I cover elsewhere. The minimum limit of cover under an employers liability insurance is 5,000,000 although in practice policies are generally issued with a minimum limit of 10,000,000.
Whilst public liability insurance is not a a legal requirement, it should be considered an essential requirement for all in business, the good news is that the insurance is widely available on the internet and at extremely competitive premiums. A specialist liability insurance broker will be able to advise you on your requirements and instant quotes and cover are available for the vast majority of businesses.
Losses might appear on account of property damage, personal injuries or as a consequence of economic loss suffered by the claimant as a result of neglectful advice supplied by the company.
The latter cause is the subject of professional indemnity insurance or professional liability insurance and it is not the intention of this article to address these issues.
The prudent business owner or operator needs to ensure that they are protected against claims from third parties in respect of their legal liability for property damage or personal injury that has arisen out of and in the course of the business. This is the subject of public liability insurance.
A public liability insurance policy offers the policyholder cover against their legal liabilities for property damage and personal injury, where such loss is alleged to have been caused by the policyholder during the course of the business.
It is essential to note that a significant aspect of the public liability insurance policy is the inclusion of defence expenditure incurred in the defence of a claims, whether the action be found to be the legal responsibility of the policyholder or not. The costs of mounting a legal defence is often great, even compared to the cost of many losses, and it is a vital insurance protection for policyholders that it's included in the standard policy coverage.
As public liability insurance is a contract of legal liability, the basic policy wording remains similar from insurer to insurer, but you need to be aware of certain key aspects of the policy to ensure that the cover meets the requirements of your business;
The Limit of Indemnity, this is the maximum amount of the insurers responsibility in respect of claims under the policy. This limit will be selected by you and will depend frequently on contractual requirements placed upon you by your employers.
The Business Description, it's critical that this accurately represents your company activities because it's only claims that occur from the undertaking of this business description and the insurance companies reasonable understanding of a trade or business activity that will be covered under the insurance.
Policy limitations and endorsements, these are added to insurance policies to define the insurers responsibility under the policy for certain activities by perhaps restricting the kinds of work undertaken or else by specifying the safeguards that must be taken when carrying out certain work.
As with all insurance products you must read the document carefully to make sure that it meets with your requirements and you ought to raise any queries straight away with your insurance agent.
A business that employs people may also be subject to claims from employees for injury or damage arising out of their employment. In the United Kingdom, this class of insurance is known as Employers Liability Insurance whereas it is referred to as Workers Compensation in the US and elsewhere.
Employers liability insurance is a compulsory insurance requirement for all employers in the United Kingdom with a few exceptions that I cover elsewhere. The minimum limit of cover under an employers liability insurance is 5,000,000 although in practice policies are generally issued with a minimum limit of 10,000,000.
Whilst public liability insurance is not a a legal requirement, it should be considered an essential requirement for all in business, the good news is that the insurance is widely available on the internet and at extremely competitive premiums. A specialist liability insurance broker will be able to advise you on your requirements and instant quotes and cover are available for the vast majority of businesses.
About the Author:
Blackfriars Group is a long established liability and business insurance broker in the United Kingdom providing a fast and cost effective service in the arrangement of liability insurance for clients engaged in a wide range of trades, businesses and activities and providing instant access to quotes from leading insurers at the liability insurance site.
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