Who Needs Public Liability Insurance?

Running a business is never easy, especially if you are just starting up. There are many things that you have to take care of as the owner. This includes payroll, employee welfare, legal requirements, staffing, getting affordable financing, fighting lawsuits, and marketing the brand. In addition to all these, you also have to pay taxes and take care of complaints from customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders in your business. The good news is that there are many competent professionals who can help you run a sound and profitable business. This includes lawyers, business consultants, accountants, expert marketers, and loan brokers among other types of professionals. This means that you will have all the time you need to focus on growing your business. Please note that business growth takes time, and there are no shortcuts, so be sure to be patient.

Managing Business Risk

There are many risks that may destroy your business. For instance, if a fire razes down your business premise, you may not be able to survive the aftermath. Lawsuits can also force you to close shop. Imagine starting a business with a market value of around half a million dollars and getting a court order to pay five million dollars in damages to a disgruntled employee or customer. Obviously, this would be too much for you to bear.

The good news is that there is a way to avoid all the risks that come with running a business. That is getting public liability insurance. When you have this type of policy, you can have peace of mind when engaging the public.

What is Public Liability Insurance?

Every business owner needs to go to this website to know more about Public Liability Insurance because it is a basic business requirement. It is a must-have before you can open your doors to the public. Basically, this insurance policy will protect both you and your business in case your customer, supplier or employee wants to file an injury lawsuit against you for whatever reason. Imagine accidentally causing some damage to the rented business premise in the course of conducting your business despite warnings from the property manager, or property owner. A lawsuit can be filed against your business for an unreasonable amount. After all, we live in a litigation-happy society, and anything can happen. If the lawsuit is successful, you may be forced to pay an unreasonable amount as compensation for the damage. If you are covered by a public liability insurance policy, however, you will not experience any financial loss as the policy will take care of everything.

Another common incident that may leave your business facing huge claims for damages is slip and fall incidents. If a customer or employee slips on a wet floor and falls, suffering serious injuries in the process, they could sue you for the injuries.

What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?

Every type of insurance is designed to offer protection against certain risks and public liability insurance is not any different. Basically, this type of policy covers legal expenses associated with injury lawsuits and pays any compensation that may be awarded by the court according to the limits specified in the policy documents. This can save you a lot of money and give you a chance to steer your business into success despite the punitive lawsuits it may face.

Once a lawsuit has been filed in court, the next step is for you to file a claim with your insurer. The insurance company will process that claim and even contribute towards your legal defense. After all, it is in their interest to make sure you do not lose the case. If you lose, however, they will pay the cost of damages and legal fees. Please note that public liability insurance covers the following:

Property damage

This provides coverage for third party’s property that you may damage. Imagine a waiter or waitress working at your restaurant spilling coffee onto an expensive designer handbag of your customer. This can cause problems for you. Similarly, if your valet parking drivers damage a car while driving to the parking area or when returning it to the customer, you will be liable for any damages. Fortunately, public liability insurance will pay for the damages in both cases.

Bodily Injury

If an employee or customer gets injured in any way within your business premise, you can file a claim with your insurer to cover the resulting liabilities.

Legal Expenses

The cost of fighting a lawsuit can be crippling whether or not you win the case. Hiring a competent lawyer is an expensive affair, so it is best you purchase a public liability insurance policy to save your business from the costs of hiring a good personal injury lawyer. Depending on the terms and conditions of your policy, all the legal fees incurred may be paid for by the insurance company.

Guide to Choosing the Right Public Liability Insurance Policy

There are many insurance companies out there, and most of them will claim to offer the best public liability insurance policies. Therefore, you should not choose just any policy you find. It is crucial you do some background research before making a decision. In this regard, the following are factors of consideration when comparing policies:

• Coverage Provided: The most important thing for you to check when analyzing a policy is what it covers. The ideal policy should cover property damage, bodily injury and legal fees. It should not leave you exposed in any way.
• Coverage Limits: It is not enough to know that property damage, legal fees and bodily injury are covered by a policy. You still need to find out what the coverage limits are in monetary terms. The ideal policy should cover these liabilities to the tune of hundreds, or even millions, of dollars. The higher the coverage limits the better.
• Cost of Premiums: You do not want to buy a costly policy whose premiums can cripple your business financially. Similarly, you don’t want a cheap policy that does not offer sufficient protection. For these reasons, you have to weigh between cost of premiums and coverage limits before purchasing a given policy.