Public Liability Insurance (PL)

Why Does My Business Need Public Liability Insurance?

Whether you are a new business or an existing one you need to consider very carefully obtaining the correct insurance covers for your activities. Liability although not a legal requirement is extremely important as a claim against your business without appropriate cover could potentially close the company or bankrupt the individual sole trader.

Your Public Liability Insurance policy will cover your legal liability to pay damages in the event of a third party (member of the public) sustaining bodily injury, death or damage to their property or person as a result of you business activities.

The Public Liability Insurance (PL) is designed to cover the legal cost to defend an allegation against your business and should you then be found neglectful, any damages awarded up to the level of indemnity you purchased the insurance cover for.

With tradesmen and women they may also like to consider insurance covers such as 'contractors all risks' briefly this type of cover is designed to help with economic loss caused by the contractor and should be considered depending on the circumstance of the business, along with or stand alone Public Liability insurance, particularly if you want to cover in a package such risks as contract works own plant, hired in plant, employees tools, Public & Employers Liability Insurance.

Public Liability Insurance policies will, in most cases also include Products Liability Insurance which is designed to cover the products either sold or manufactured by a company. Any product sold or even given away must be 'fit for purpose' and you will be legally responsible for any damages or injury that a product you supply, if it goes wrong.

Product Liability Insurance covers you for such things as damages awarded as a result of damage to a property or person caused by the product and in some cases policies will cover you for unforeseen circumstances such as a breakdown in the manufacturing process that may not have been able to be identified.

Product Liability Insurance will not cover badly made and inferior products. There are of course a host of requirements when selling products and even if you do not manufacture the product you could still have a claim made against you, so even as a supplier you need to consider Public & Products Insurance as a must as you will be liable if the product:

1) Is imported outside the EEC
2) You offer repairs or change the product
3) The manufacturer no longer trades
4) You have white labelled the product.


So to recap you need to consider Public Liability insurance and possible Product Liability Insurance.