Whether you are a new business looking to put a public liability insurance policy in place or you have a policy and looking for a better deal, we have you covered. We focus on providing you with a good balance between competitive pricing and great cover.
Don’t spend countless hours shopping around, we provide you the most competitive options the first time.
Public Liability Insurance and Product Liability Insurance is typically designed to cover your business activities against legal costs or legal action which is associated with personal injury or property damage to a third party or their property which is a result of your business performing their activities. These injuries could directly effect a member of the public or a third parties property.
The personal injury or property damage could be caused from you, your employee or a product which you have sold. Public Liability Insurance is the most common insurance policy required by a business. You are usually required to hold a Public Liability insurance for most commercial leases or if you attend customers premises.
Australia is the second most litigious country in the world after closely following the United States of America. With the introduction of “no win, no fee” legal teams, readily accessible information online and on going media exposure it is undeniable how important it is for a company to hold a suitable insurance policy to protect them against such action.
It is not un-common for claims to be made that can be hundreds of thousands even millions of dollars based off increasing claims cost. Most policy holders will under play the significance of their policy however, should you be deemed as liable or negligent for a claimable incident than you could potentially be liable for any or all of the following:
Why should you use Priority Insurance Brokers to arrange your Public Liability Insurance?
Public liability insurance premiums are not a one size fits all policy. Many factors are assessed when the final cost for the policy is determined. The main factors that are assessed are:
For example, a small flower shop inside of a shopping centre will pay a much lower premium than a construction company because of the type of risks that they are exposed to. A flower shop will have some foot traffic of customers coming to look at flowers whereas a construction company will usually involve things like cutting, welding, digging holes where the chance of injury is much higher.
No, its not compulsory however, some states in Australia have put mandates in place for certain industries. Some head contractors of construction sites and leasing companies have also made it compulsory and will typically check the policy is still in place annually. The biggest question that you should ask yourself is could you withstand a $100,000 personal injury claim? Imagine if multiple came through for work or products that were supplied over a 6 or 12 month period.
Most policies that we put in place automatically include public and product liability insurance however, this is not the case for all insurers. A policy may not include it or could remove the cover by applying endorsements on the policy. It is best practice to declare all business activities on your policy or to your broker so that all aspects of cover can be provided.
Most policies will now require a minimum of $10,000,000 as the limit of liability. You can also get policies that go up to $20,000,000 and sometimes $30,000,000 or even $50,000,000. The most regularly used limits are $10 and $20 million. Previously, insurers offered a $5,000,000 and still do however, with claim costs getting higher and higher we strongly suggest that our clients take a minimum of $10,000,000 cover. It is important to consider that some policies will also stipulate an "aggregate limit" meaning the maximum amount that can be claimed on one policy during one policy period.
We understand that running a business takes a lot of work and as a business owner you’re expected to be across all of the different aspects of your business operation. We have tried to make our process as simple as possible and all of our Brokers work with each business owners to have a strong understanding of your business and whats required to be in place to ensure that there are no nasty surprises. We pride ourselves on not hiding behind the fine print.
"A cafe worker was working in her cafe when a customer slips on a spilled drink, suffering a broken hip. The customer sues, and the business is found liable to pay a sizeable compensation claim, as well as significant legal costs. The cafe owners policy covers the cost of the claim, so the cafe owner can meet the liability costs." - Claim Source: Steadfast Insurance website
Personal injury claims are continuing to rise here in Australia which is leading to a significant increase into Public Liability Insurance claims. Whether it be a simple error in a busy cafe or a construction worker working on a job site with 100 other trades people every business that is operating under their own business and ABN should have a policy in place.
The costs associated with events that could cause personal injury or property damage can usually cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the size of the claim and the loss that has occured. Considering that a liability policy can range from only a couple hundred dollars per year to a couple of thousand depending on your business structure, it is worth having in place in case the inevitable occurs. Read more in our blog article about the average price of Public Liability Insurance policies.
If you are operating a business then there is a good chance that you will need more insurance than just Public and Product Liability insurance. This depends on your business as the types of policies that a cafe would have in place compared to a tradesman are completely different. To get a full assessment of your business and understand exactly what you need, we recommend that you talk with an Insurance Broker.
As an example only some other insurances that your business may want to consider is the following:
The easiest way that we can assist is by reviewing your current policies. When we review your policy, we can usually identify ways in which we can save you premium or notify you of any potential exclusions that could impact your business.
This is the part where you can sit back and relax and leave the work to us. Once we have the information needed, we then contact our panel of insurers to request their quotes. In most cases, we gather a minimum of 10 quotes.
Once all quotes are to hand and they have been reviewed, we will get back in contact with you to present our options. During this time we will explain the cover and the benefits to you. We never just blindly send these policies to you and expect you to completely understand. We will dedicate our time to discuss these options with you in detail.
Once we have your instructions to proceed with the policy we will then organise payment of the policies. Policies can be paid annually or via our monthly premium funding options.
Mechanic’s require specific public liability insurance cover which cover test driving customer’s vehicles, roadworthy certification and keeping customer’s vehicles in your posession at your premises.
Cleaners have different exposures and it is important to be aware of common exclusions or sub-limits which reduces the limit that the insurer covers for things like keys, cleaning common areas and shopping centres.
Security companies have specialised operations and therefor need specialist insurance products. It is important that your company is adequately covered for the works that you are doing including monitoring, patrols and firearm usage.
A number of insurers will not cover asbestos removal activities and as such, its important to have the right covers in place to ensure that you are not at risk of large claims being made against you for pollution, contamination or personal injury.
Nightclubs, pubs and bar require specialised insurance packages as there are multiple exposures on hand. Alcohol consumption, dancing, food consumption and gambling all should be covered appropriately. We provide specialised insurance packages for these venues.
Earthmoving and excavation contractors are prone to potential liability issues and it is important that you understand what your policy covers and what it doesn’t. Ensure that if you are working near any fixed property that you’re covered if you cause damage.
Yes, most direct insurers will let you put your own public liability insurance policy in place. However, this means that you are taking on the responsibility of reviewing the policy, making sure your cover is correct, managing and lodging your own claims. This can be a lot of work for a business owner on top of what you already do in your business. A good Insurance Broker will work with on reviewing the cover, bringing any specific things to your attention and taking over the management of your claims should this occur.
No, you don’t. For full transparency of our remuneration, insurers pay us an agreed commission when you proceed with the policy. This is not in addition to what you pay and in most cases we are able to pass on a cost reduction to our clients by finding a more competitive policy or by reducing the impact of their quoted renewal premiums.
Most policies that we put in place automatically include public and product liability insurance however, this is not the case for all insurers. A policy may not include it or could remove the cover by applying endorsements on the policy. It is best practice to declare all business activities on your policy or to your broker so that all aspects of cover can be provided.
Most policies will now require a minimum of $10,000,000 as the limit of liability. You can also get policies that go up to $20,000,000 and sometimes $30,000,000 or even $50,000,000. The most regularly used limits are $10 and $20 million. Previously, insurers offered a $5,000,000 and still do however, with claim costs getting higher and higher we strongly suggest that our clients take a minimum of $10,000,000 cover. It is important to consider that some policies will also stipulate an “aggregate limit” meaning the maximum amount that can be claimed on one policy during one policy period.
Anyone who has registered an ABN should consider a public liability insurance policy. Regardless of the size of your business, how it operates or where, you should have a policy in place to protect yourself and your business. If you’re a sole trader you should also consider that as an individual, personal assets can be at risk when compensation claims are made.
As soon as you intend to start trading your business. If you are ordering product to sell, booking client appointments or discussing your products and services you should be considering a suitable insurance policy.
As this is a tailored risk review, we need the requested information to be supplied as a minimum. Without all of the information, we are unable to supply you with a risk review. An address (suburb and postcode as a minimum) is required because the review also includes natural catastrophe risks as well.
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