Who Needs Public Liability Insurance?

Very often, owners of small businesses neglect Public Liability Insurance until it’s too late. However, in reality, if you’re in a business and you have members of the public, such as business partners, suppliers or customers visiting your business premises, even if that’s your own, you need Public Liability Insurance to protect you from any claims for damages arising from their visit. Getting the best cover means you need to compare public liability insurance policies.

The fact is, if someone is injured or experiences a loss on your premises, you could be held responsible and the resulting court case, legal fees and compensation, if the claimant is found to be in the right, could be enough to put you out of business. Which is why it’s important to compare public liability insurance packages as soon as you start up in business to get the right cover for your needs.

Let’s look at a few examples:

• You’re a home-based hairdresser. If someone comes to your house and slips on a wet kitchen floor and sustains an injury, they could sue your damages.

• Or, perhaps you’re an IT consultant and a client comes in for a meeting. A cup of coffee falls over and spills on their laptop, damaging. You could be responsible for buying a new laptop.

• Perhaps you have a small health and fitness centre and a customer falls asleep on a massage table while the employee is out of the room. You, the business owner could be responsible.

Clearly these aren’t inexpensive compensation claims for a small business or a sole trader, yet in most cases, a court would hold you accountable and the resulting costs could have a very negative impact on your business. So it’s vitally important to compare public liability insurance packages to get the one that’s right for your needs.