If you are opening a pop-up shop, working on a stall or hosting an event, you may be asked to provide public liability insurance. You may wonder why this is necessary. There are a number of reasons why having this cover is important, as it could save you a lot of problems later on.
Who needs to get it?
If you run a business, you should have public liability insurance cover. In the event that someone accidentally injures themselves or property is damaged, then you can be covered for those costs. It can also apply to incidents such as people being injured if a tile comes loose from your roof and injures someone passing by. It may sound overcautious, but if this does happen and someone can’t work then you could potentially be liable.
This doesn’t cover things that happen to you or your employees, as this is covered under general business insurance, while employees are protected under employer’s liability insurance (which you are legally obliged to do if you employ more than one person.)
It is also recommended in general as it provides reassurance to anyone who is visiting your premises, or if you have been invited as part of an event (for example if you run a food stall at an exhibition). If you provide entertainment (such as a DJ, magician etc) having cover can also be a selling point to potential clients, so this is worth considering if you are self employed as well as if you are part of a larger business.
For example, someone dropping off a package come into your home and accidentally trip over and hurt themselves. It may sound unlikely, but if you don’t have public liability insurance there is the risk that you could be liable for a claim.
What happens if you don’t get the cover?
Public liability insurance is relatively inexpensive to get. You can buy it as a one-off or for a year. However, if you don’t get the cover then even the smallest of injury or damage claims against you could result in thousands of pounds in costs.
How much cover do you need?
A broker should be able to let you know how much cover is appropriate, as this will depend on the level of risk involved. For example, when you are working with a local authority the level of cover will be around £5-10 million.
The reason is that you may find that an amount of damage needs to be repaired. If this occurs, then the insurer will pay for the repair costs. However, there is the possibility that you may have to pay an excess charge in order to facilitate the claim.
We can help
When it comes to insurance it is important to get the right level of insurance, so you have the appropriate cover but also so you don’t pay for anything you don’t need. If you would like to discuss your requirements in more detail please contact Larcomes so we can get you in touch with our legal specialists to help find the best public liability insurance to suit you and your business.