Who Needs Public Liability Insurance?
Public liability insurance is a very specific type of policy that is designed to protect businesses if they are held liable for damages to a member of the public as a result of their business activities. It is important to understand what type of businesses are most at risk, what they could be held liable for and what a public liability insurance policy does and does not cover.
What is a public liability insurance policy?
Any business that engages with members of the public could potentially cause damage to them that the company could be held liable for. This damage could be to the individual or their family resulting in some type of personal injury, damage to the property of the individual or even potentially their death. If the business is held liable for the damage, a public liability policy will provide a degree of financial compensation to cover the costs that the business may have to pay.
Who needs public liability insurance?
Companies work at different levels with their customers, and the scope of the insurance policy should reflect this as insurance companies will vary slightly in the level of protection they offer. A business needs to look at where it meets its customers, either at the premises of a business, at organised events or trade fairs or in the customer's home. There needs to be an assessment of what the potential risks are, and how these risks can be best managed.
Planning events
Businesses or people that organise events are often highlighted as most at risk as they are looking to maximise the number of people that they interact with. The event may range from a coffee morning to raise funds for a local charity to a full-scale sporting event with spectators and participants. Planning the event thoroughly in advance allows for a real identification of what risks there may be, and the more these can be minimised, the cheaper and more effective the public liability insurance policy will be.
Some common areas of risk to be thought about include the weather if the event is outdoors, the provision of first aid, the safety of any structures or buildings, particularly temporary ones, that may be needed, if food and drink are being served and if things like fireworks are going to be part of the event itself.
Any insurance company looking to issue a policy to cover such an event will want to know the specifics of what is happening and how it is being organised. Things such as the provision of alcohol are an important consideration as this can change the dynamic of risk quite considerably.
Sometimes a public liability insurance policy will be required by law, depending upon the nature of the event, and sometimes by the owner of the land or buildings where the event is taking place. At other times there will be no legal requirement, but it is always strongly advised to have such an insurance policy in place wherever possible.
Business insurance
Any business looking to take out public liability insurance would be well advised to do it in conjunction with other types of business insurance that they will need to make sure there is no overlap, as well as the gap in cover. A public liability insurance policy does not normally cover staff, contractors or volunteers for which a separate policy may be needed, as well as product liability insurance which may also overlap to some degree with public liability.
Talk to an insurance company if you need public liability insurance.