Stephen R Sloan

Public Liability Insurance, What’s Not Covered?

Public liability insurance does a great job of protecting your business against injury claims, loss or damage claims made by a third party as a result of your negligence, and with most policies that will extend to cover your products (if Broadford or Product Liability is included)

However, there are several common business scenarios where the policy will not cover you.

Faulty workmanship

Property damage claims make up a large percentage of public liability claims, but where that damage is caused by your faulty workmanship, it’s likely to be declined. Some insurers will offer this as an extension to cover for some trades but speak to your broker if you feel that this is a large exposure for your business.

Injury or damage to you or your property

If you as the business owner sole trader or worker are injured as a result of your negligence, your public liability insurance will not respond, this also goes for loss or damage to your property the policy will only cover loss to a third party.
There are a number of income protection, personal accident, or workers compensation options to protect you and your workers, and general property cover may cover for loss or damage to your property, your broker can assist with assessing your risk.

Loss or damage as a result of your professional advice

Doctors, lawyers and even plumbers can cause financial loss as a result of the professional advice they give, this loss is generally excluded in most public liability policies and you or your business may need to consider professional indemnity insurance.

Damage or injury as a result of motor vehicle claims

Most registered vehicles, car insurance, truck insurance will include some form of third party liability cover, however, your businesses public liability policy will not cover damage or injury as a result of motor vehicle claims.

Still not sure if it’s covered?

Speak to our brokers about the risks your business face, have a claim scenario? Avoid having your claim declined by an insurer by speaking to our brokers first, as you will need to declare the declined claim every time you apply for insurance and may result in that insurance being refused.

General Advice Warning

Please note that any advice given has been provided without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is also based on information we have obtained from you. You must ensure the information is accurate and complete. Otherwise, this advice may be based on the inaccurate or incomplete information. You should consider whether the advice is appropriate in light of your objectives, financial situation, and needs

Does Public Liability Cover Faulty Workmanship?

Public liability insurance protects you and your business against the financial risk of being found liable for negligence. This may be for property damage or personal injury to a third party. However if that loss is the result of faulty workmanship it may result in your claim being declined.

Insurers Wording

One insurers wording excludes claims “for the cost of performing, completing, correcting or improving any work undertaken by You.”

Some insurers do offer Faulty Workmanship Insurance, and others also will allow you to add as an extra to your business insurance or public liability policy.

Still unsure, speak to a specialist, get them to review your potential risks and possible mitigation.

Is Public Liability Insurance Compulsory in Australia?

Public Liability Insurance is not required by law

Public Liability Insurance is not required by law in Australia, however, the Australian Government through www.business.gov.au explain “If you own a business, you may be liable for damages or injuries to another person or property. Though liability insurance is optional in most cases, it is strongly recommended for businesses in all industries as the likelihood of being sued is unpredictable and potentially very costly. Public liability insurance protects you and your business against the financial risk of being found liable for negligence. Negligence is causing reasonably foreseeable harm”.

It may be compulsory for your occupations license

Public Liability Insurance may be compulsory for your occupations license, such as builders, plumbers and electricians in some states, check with your industries licencing authority in your state.

It may be required to enter a work site or third party premises

You may be asked to show a Public Liability Insurance policy before entering a work site or third party premises including offices. Federal and State government departments, local governments and a hospital will almost certainly request proof of insurance prior to work commencing, and that will not be restricted to trades it can also include consultants and visiting professionals.

If you need more information about your Public Liability needs, call the team.

Publiclaibiltycomparison.com.au is brought to you by Insure 247 to assist Australian business compare Public Liability Insurance quotes from leading Australian Business Insurers :

Your Quotes will come from specialist licensed to act on your behalf to find you a number of options with leading Australian insurers

Insure 247 operates Publiclaibiltycomparison.com.au

If you are still unsure, talk to our team on 1300 046 787, to discuss your requirement.

Original Article shared 2016

Public and Products Liability Insurance Quotes

Business pack insurance for my small business

As a small business owner, it’s possible you may have heard something about business pack insurance. Even if you don’t know exactly what it entails, it’s likely you are familiar with the term.

Sometimes, keeping up with all the different types of insurance that are releva

By Public Liability Comparison Team

Do You Need It?

As a small business owner, it’s possible you may have heard something about business pack insurance. Even if you don’t know exactly what it entails, it’s likely you are familiar with the term.

Sometimes, keeping up with all the different types of insurance that are relevant to a small business can be overwhelming. At times, it may seem like it’s hard to keep up with all the coverage options available to you, and it’s hard to know which ones are necessary and which ones aren’t.

The good thing about business pack insurance is that it can help simplify your insurance needs by streamlining them.

What is business pack insurance?

In simple terms, business pack insurance is cover that combines a range of different insurance types under one policy. So, for example, instead of having an individual policy for business interruption, an individual policy for property and an individual policy for liability, you could get business pack insurance, which will cover all of these things under the one policy.

Instead of having to keep track of a whole bunch of different insurance policies, you only need to keep track of the one insurance policy.

Another positive of business pack insurance is that not only will it lower the number of policies you have to keep track of, it may also lower your insurance premium as underwriting several risks together tends to work out cheaper than purchasing individual policies.

Some insurers have business pack insurance that they have designed specifically for small businesses. These insurance policies are typically based on the lower annual turnover of small businesses (as compared to the annual turnover of large businesses) and will vary depending on the industry in which your small business operates

What types of things are usually covered under business pack insurance?

The types of cover offered under business pack insurance policies will differ between insurers. While insurers don’t typically offer all of the cover types in the below list under the one business pack policy, these are the types of things that a business pack policy may cover:

Property (this usually includes buildings, contents and stock that are accidentally damaged by a defined event)
Public and product liability
Machinery breakdown
General property (usually tools and professional equipment that are not stationary)
Computers and electronic equipment
Equipment breakdown
Glass
Business interruption
Theft
Money
Employee dishonesty
Tax investigation
Personal accident
Marine and cargo
Insurers usually offer what is referred to as a “standard” business pack policy, which will include a handful of the most common cover types in the above list.

Most of the options above that aren’t included in the “standard” policy can usually be added to the policy if you so wish — in exchange for a higher premium, of course.

Are there types I can tailor to my small business?

The answer to that is yes. Some insurers have business pack insurance that they have designed specifically for small businesses. These insurance policies are typically based on the lower annual turnover of small businesses (as compared to the annual turnover of large businesses) and will vary depending on the industry in which your small business operates (i.e. most insurers don’t offer a one-size-fits-all small business insurance pack policy; they usually have a range of options available to small businesses that cater to different industries).

If none of the options insurers themselves have curated appeal to you, the majority of insurers will let you customise business pack insurance to your business so that the insurance cover will match the specific needs of your small business. With customisation, the insurance company will usually give you a bunch of individual insurance covers (similar to those listed above) and you can pick and choose which ones are most relevant/important to you.

Do I need it?

As always, the only person who knows the answer to that question is you. You are the expert on your business and the particular risks posed to it.

However, have a think about the types of insurance policies you currently have — are there quite a few? Would they be easier for you to keep track of if they were all combined under one policy? Would it be more cost-effective for you?

Have a think about the types of cover in the bullet list above — are you covered for all of the risks posed to your business? Or are there some liabilities of which you weren’t previously aware? Would a business pack policy help you plug those liability holes?

Having a think about the answers to these questions should help get you on your way to deciding if business pack insurance is a good policy option for you. If you’re still unsure, engage the help of an independent adviser (i.e. one who isn’t affiliated with a particular insurance company) to help you make a decision that is right for you and your business needs.

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