Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance provides cover will pay your legal costs and certain compensation payments that might be due if your client takes legal action against you for alleged damage to their property or for compensation if you are alleged to have caused an accident resulting in a member of the public sustaining an injury.

The policy offers the following benefits:

• Protection for you and your business against property damages claims.

No matter how careful you are, accidents will happen. Damage to property can include accidentally knocking an item over or a spillage onto an electronic device, both resulting in repairs or replacements.

• Cover for human error which causes an accident and/or injury.

Unintentional human errors are common, especially if you are tired. If your alleged error causes an accident resulting in an injury, then you could find yourself on the receiving end of claim. Public Liability insurance will respond to provide cover in this instance.

Despite the elevated risk of mistakes being made when undertaking client work, a surprising number of business professionals don’t to protect themselves with public liability insurance.

In many cases this is because they are unaware that they need this type of insurance protection and are unaware of the potentially damaging outcome of a claim.

If you are unsure if you need professional indemnity insurance protection, we have compiled a list of instances when it is advisable to be insured, as follows:

You deal with clients face-to-face.
You deal with / have contact with members of the public.
You work on-site at clients’ premises.
You host meetings at your offices / home office.

The list is relevant to freelancers, contractors, small business owners and sole traders. If you provide these services, then Public Liability insurance is a policy you should consider for peace of mind that you are covered in the event of a claim.

Professionals who benefit from carrying public liability insurance includes, but is not limited to:

Management consultants
IT contractors and IT consultants
Technical and mechanical engineers
Marketing consultants
Photographers
Social workers
Teachers and tutors

The level of protection you need will depend on the potential liability and also what is stipulated as the minimum requirement in your contract. Caunce O’Hara can help you build the ideal liability insurance policy that will help protect your business. Public Liability is offered as part of our Business Combined Liabilities insurance, which also includes Employers’ Liability, Directors & Officers insurance, and cover for your business equipment.

At Caunce O’Hara we offer comprehensive PL insurance as part of our Business Combined Liabilities insurance, which can be purchased from as little as £112.00 a year (that is only £8.16 per month). Your premium will depend on the amount of cover you need, the risks of your profession and the excess amount.

Professional Indemnity insurance (PI) will provide cover for business professionals who provide business services, advice or designs to clients and will cover against claims of negligent work.

Employers liability insurance (EL) will cover the cost of defending or settling a claim against you from an employee who has suffered injury or disease as a result of the work they do for you.

It is important to be aware that as a self-employed business owner, a claim can be made against you personally with unlimited personal liability, therefore Directors and Officers insurance is a valuable insurance policy which will cover you in this instance, which is provided as part of our Business Combined Liabilities insurance product.

Legal Expenses insurance will also provide cover for costs incurred from a legal occurrence or claim that your indemnity and liability insurance does not cover, including the costs incurred from an IR35 tax investigation.

Cyber insurance, also known as cyber liability insurance, will cover your business in the event of a malicious attack on your computer systems and your data.

Personal accident insurance can provide cover for your loss of earnings while you are unable to work due to a work-related accident or illness caused by your work.

Commercial crime insurance can be beneficial to anyone who ones or runs a business, no matter how large that business is. Theft and other crime can have catastrophic consequences for a business and potentially to those who are connected to that business, such as suppliers and employees.