The short answer is no. While public liability insurance is not strictly a legal requirement, it can be cost-effective to have cover in place. Whether you’re a sole trader, a huge global organisation or a small business, public liability can help you cover costly compensation claims, protect expensive equipment from accidental damage cover legal expenses and much more.
What is public liability insurance?
Unfortunately, accidents are unavoidable but as a business you can protect yourself should something happen. Public liability insurance is a type of insurance that covers your business from financial loss if a client or member of the public gets injured, or their property is damaged within your business premises or whilst you conduct day-to-day activities.
What is covered by public liability insurance?
In a nutshell, it covers injuries and damage claims brought against your business by a third party, whether caused at your own workplace, a customer’s workplace or elsewhere.
Claims can be the result of various circumstances and your policy should cover the associated compensation costs. Here are some examples of what public liability insurance will cover:
- A customer trips on a wet floor or uneven surface at your premises sustaining an injury
- A member of the public injures themselves on a piece of your equipment
- A client’s laptop is damaged after a cup of coffee is spilt during a meeting
- Your property is damaged during building work
Do I need public liability if I work from home?
If you run your business out of your home and are inviting clients or other members of the public into your house for meetings, or your employees are remote workers visiting clients’ installations, then you should consider public liability insurance.
This will protect you if a visitor has an accident while they’re on your property and decides to take legal action against your business.
I’m self-employed, do I need public liability insurance?
We’d highly recommend anyone who is self-employed to purchase public liability insurance, simply because in the event of property damage or injury during business activities, you could be held responsible for legal costs, expenses, and compensation payments.
What happens if I don’t have public liability insurance?
Without an effective policy in place, you will have to fork out costly solicitor fees from the company’s funds or even your own pocket if someone files a claim against you. No matter what size of business you are, these costs can cause cashflow damage.
How much does public liability insurance cost?
Much like any insurance premium, the cost of your public liability insurance is often based on the perceived likelihood of a claim and how much that claim might be. This cost is calculated based on specific factors including:
- The size of your business
- The industry you operate in
- Your location
- If you use potentially dangerous equipment
- Your business’ health and safety record
- Your insurance claims history
- Whether customers visit your site, and the typical footfall
Not sure how much public liability you need?
The level of cover you need varies from business to business. To find out how much public liability insurance might cost, get in touch with our experts. Our specialist team can discuss your options and work with you to identify the level of cover you need.
Call today on 01609 773 748 and our team of specialist insurance brokers will help you find the right public liability cover for your business.
No time to talk just now or looking out of hours, fill out our quick quote form or request a call back and our team will call you at a convenient time.