Liability Insurance can be purchased under the following headings:
Public Liability
Public liability insurance is designed to cover your business in the event that you are sued by a third party who feels that they have suffered a loss as a result of your negligence. It covers your legal liability to a third party. Even if you did not act negligently and subsequently no damages were awarded you could still have a large legal bill to pay.
Public liability insurance will not prevent claims from happening, it will however cover your business in the event that there is one. If you are a sole trader and not a limited company your personal assets could be exposed if you were proved to be negligent.
Employers Liability
Employers Liability Insurance protects your business against your legal liability for injury, illness, disease or death of any employee under a contract of service with your business.
What is an employee? Most policies extend the definition of a direct employee to include: Labour-Only Sub Contractors or persons supplied by them, Self Employed Persons, Persons hired or borrowed by the insured under agreement, persons engaged in training, education or work experience. This means that claims against your business under these categories will be indemnified by your insurance, provided you have paid your premium for them.
It is also possible to get Employment Practice Liability Insurance for employment related legal actions taken by your employees for issues such as wrongful termination, discrimination or other employment related disputes.
Products Liability
Product Liability Insurance provides cover in respect of legal liability leading to injury, loss or damage arising from products sold or supplied, or work or services which you have undertaken in the course of your business, up to the selected amount of cover during any one period of insurance.
Goods are defined as “any goods or products sold, supplied, erected, repaired, altered, treated or installed by the insured in the course of the business”.
Possible extensions to the cover are available such as:
- Contractual liability for products negligently supplied, installed or erected
- Cost of recalling products
- Goods supplied to North America
- Product Efficacy Extension
- This covers the liability of the insured following the failure of the product to carry out its intended function
Limits of cover for product liability insurance usually mirrors public liability insurance limits of indemnity of €1.3 Million, €2.6 Million & €6.5 Million.