Insurance: Insider Tips and Facts

Public Liability Insurance: An In-Depth Guide

22 July 2021 by Brian Dunn

Is interacting with the general public part of running your business? Unfortunate events are sometimes inevitable when dealing with many people in public spaces. For instance, accidents may happen, causing injuries and property damage. If this happens, you may end up losing a significant amount of money to claims of property damage or personal injury. Property liability insurance is the correct type of insurance to protect you and your business against such claims. Knowing a thing or two about this type of insurance will put you on the right path towards protecting your business. With that in mind, here is your in-depth guide to public liability insurance.

Coverage

Knowing what property liability insurance covers is crucial as it will help you understand what you are protecting your business against. Overall, the insurance typically covers third party injuries or death, loss or damage to property owned by third parties, legal costs to defend a covered claim, legal fees to be paid because of a covered claim, and workers or other people working on your business's behalf against any claims from third parties.

Premiums

How much does the insurance cost? You might be wondering as this is crucial for your budgeting and financial planning. Typically, public liability insurance costs depend on two primary components: the size of your business and the type of business you run. Larger businesses tend to pose higher risks of damage and injury. Therefore, expect to pay more premiums the larger your business is. In addition, many insurance providers will look at the number of your employees and your annual revenue when calculating your premium.

On the other hand, your business operations also play a crucial role when it comes to your public liability insurance costs. For instance, if you operate in high-risk areas such as mines and large construction projects where risks of damage and injury are considered high, you will pay more.

Compulsoriness

Business regulations exist all around the world. Therefore, knowing what is legally required of your business always goes a long way in helping you avoid unnecessary penalties and fines. Generally, public liability insurance isn't compulsory. However, depending on the nature of your business and your business location, you may be required to have public liability insurance. Some states or territories make it mandatory for certain businesses to have this type of insurance, so talk to your insurance provider to understand your options. While public liability insurance may not be compulsory, it's highly recommended that you get it for your business since claims and legal defence costs can be pretty expensive.

Share