Public liability Insurance

With the ever increasing trend of 'no-win no-fee' legal cases the need for public liability insurance is greater than it has ever been. Public liability insurance provides cover for any claims made by a member of the public(for example your customer) for any injury or property damage which you are legally liable for.

An example of an incident where you could possibly be held liable for an injury to a member of the public would be if you were a general builder and left a pile of tools on the floor, someone could fall over these and sustain an injury and hold you liable for compensation and any legal or medical costs incurred. Obviously a liability insurance claim for an injury can often be for thousands of pounds which indicates a strong requirement for a comprehensive policy to protect both yourself and your business.

An example of an incident when you may be held liable for property damage would be if you were a decorator and whilst carrying your equipment into the customers property you knocked over an expensive ornament. Again such a claim could be quite costly and without liability insurance you could be liable for the full cost of repairing or replacing the damage item yourself.

Public liability insurance quote

When searching online for liability insurance you can save yourself hours of time by searching by using a broker. Instead of completing forms directly with insurers which can take you a very long time you can simply complete one short form with the broker who will then search a whole range of different insurers and offer you the best quote, not only are you saving time but insurers usually give cheaper rates to the broker meaning you will quite likely save money as well! The following is a short list of some questions you will be asked when applying for a low cost quotation:

• Correspondence details - Obviously these details are purely for the administration of the policy documentation and such like and does not actually effect the premium you pay.


• Cover commencement date - Again the commencement date of your insurance doesn't have any effect on the premium other than indirectly by the way that rates are updated meaning you could be starting your policy during the change over of rates making it more expensive or cheaper.


• Claims history - Your previous or existing claims history can have a huge effect on your public liability insurance application, many insurers will refuse to actually provide cover if you have made more than two liability insurance claims or if you have had one large one which makes it extremely difficult to obtain insurance.


• Years experience - Insurers are fair and realise that the more experience you have in the trade the less chances you are to make mistakes which could lead to a claim which is why this factor can directly effect your premium.


• Years trading - Similar to the way that a discount may be applied for your experience in the trade you may also be given a discount based on the amount of years you have been trading, after all a business which has been trading for 10 years may be considered as a proven success as aposed to a startup business.

Business liability insurance

• Trade - Your occupation is obviously the largest factor which will effect your liability insurance quote, if you carry out work in a high risk trade such as a roofer working up high then your insurance will more than likely cost more than someone working in an office.


• Indemnity limit - There are three levels of public liability indemnity available. You have the choice between £1,000,000 , £2,000,000 or £5,000,000, depending on your situation you may require the higher level of cover. When working for the council they will usually require you to have at least £5,000,000.


• Number of principles, directors or partners - Obviously the more people in your business the more expensive your insurance will be since the risk is increased due to the amount of people to be insured.


• Use of heat - If you use heat during the course of your occupation, for example any welding tools then you may find that special restrictions are applied to your policy or that you are unable to obtain a quotation.