This policy covers you against claims made by members of the public arising from the course of your normal business activities. This can range from clients visiting your offices / property, to any business deliveries you may make or work undertaken at a customer’s property. That is by no means an exhaustive list – public liability is designed to be a versatile cover that provides you with protection from the risks that arise from normal business activities when interacting with the public.
The usual claims we see from public liability policies provide good guidance on why it is good practice to hold a public liability policy. Not only can these claims be enormously costly – you could be held personally liable if you do not have an insurance policy to protect you or your business. These claims mainly come as a result of injury, illness or damage to property caused to a member of the public which arose from your business activities. This could be a tradesman dropping a can of paint on an expensive new carpet at a clients residence. It could equally be a member of the public tripping and injuring themselves in your shop or office.
The cost of public liability insurance is linked to your business activities primarily. Usually the more manual the work undertaken or any element of hospitality or retail; where footfall of customers & the public is greater – the higher the premium.
However other factors are important as well; e.g. the size of the business, any history of claims and reversely the years experience. There is also a link to the activities undertaken and how insurers perceive this increases / decreases the risk your business is likely to face. This is usually based on industry assumptions and their own data on the level of claims received from respective occupations.
Public liability insurance is not mandatory other than for some very specific industries.
Premiums for smaller firms or individuals who trade on a casual basis (e.g. a market trader on a weekend) may be tempted to forgo the need for public liability insurance but the cost of litigation and of defending claims in Guernsey – however remote you feel the risk to be – can be significant.
Most businesses will either purchase £1M or £2M of public liability cover. it depends on the level of cover they feel they need and what level of cover they are happy with.
You can of course request quotes ofr the different levels of indmnity cover – which is usually in common increment options of £1M, £2M, £5M and £10M plus.
Some of our insurer’s policies provide up to £10 million of cover. This is usually required as a result of a specific contract or requirement for undertaking as stipulated by a third party venue or organisation. An example would be a tradesman working on a very expensive commercial hotel – may be required to have public liability cover for £10M and some government contracts require £5M with proof of cover before you can begin work.
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Unlike online insurers or UK-based call centres, you can pop in to speak to a human at our offices in Admiral House. Our staff are always happy to help with any enquiries you might have and guide you through the insurance-buying process. We are proud to support the local community and invest in local services for your convenience.
Every risk is different and every person has unique circumstances to accommodate. Try us for those complicated or hard to place policies. Equally for those without insurance history, or with claims, we will strive to find a suitable policy that caters for your specific requirements.
It’s far easier to deal with one broker for all your insurance needs. With a wide range of products available from different insurers, we can be your one-stop-shop for all your insurance needs either for yourself our wider family or your business. For instance – our family fleet policy enables you to place all of your household’s vehicles including cars, vans and bikes under one flexible policy.
One of the benefits of having been in the island for so long is that we can feedback the unique needs of islanders back to insurer partners. This counts when it comes to claims arrangements and for instance fighting for local choice on repair networks. It also means working with insurers to create flexible products such as our unique family fleet policy, which makes arranging insurance for your whole family that much less stressful – one premium, one renewal date, one policy.
