It’s a question that many business owners will ask themselves, especially at the moment when keeping costs under control is so important.
Insurance is one of those things that many people don’t appreciate until they need it most. When you’re looking to save a few dollars it can be very tempting to cancel an existing policy, or for a new business, to not take out public liability insurance at all.
But holding public liability insurance can actually be one of the best investments that you make in your business life. After all, why would you work so hard to build your business and then risk it all by not protecting yourself?
Before we delve into whether or not you need or should have public liability insurance, it is important to first understand exactly what this cover is and what it means to your business.
What is Public Liability Insurance?
As a business owner you will understand better than anyone the risks that are faced in business every day.
There are some risks that you cannot control, some that you can control completely, and a lot of others that sit somewhere in between.
Public liability insurance was designed to protect businesses against the financial consequences of a range of risks. These risks include property damage, personal injury and certain other forms of loss that are suffered by another person or business due to your activities.
A public liability policy can cover the costs of anything from a minor property damage claim worth a few hundred dollars, all the way through to a multiple fatality claim that could climb well into the millions.
So what is public liability insurance? It is the cheapest form of peace of mind for business owners.
How important is it?
Public liability is commonly considered to be one of the most important forms of insurance for any business, from a sole traderthrough to an ASX listed corporation.
Without public liability insurance, many of the claims could potentially cripple a company. How many sole traders could afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars at short notice? How many larger companies could afford to cover a few million?
Public liability insurance has saved countless small and large businesses from the financial costs of accidents and mishaps, and even events where the business was shown to be negligent.
Do I really need it?
Unfortunately there are thousands of businesses around Australia that do not have public liability insurance. Fortunately for many of them they will get away with it, but not everyone is so lucky.
You could certainly take the risk of not holding public liability cover, but considering how affordable the insurance is for most businesses, it would certainly seem to be a risk not worth taking.
There are some businesses that can legitimately do without public liability insurance. These are generally home based businesses that do not have clients or other people visiting the home premises, and do not undertake any manual work at client’s premises.
Whilst these businesses can get away without public liability, their premiums are so low due to their low risk that they might as well take out some cover just in case.
What’s the cheapest option?
Taking out the cheapest public liability insurance policy you can find may not be the best option for you and your business, but it is certainly better than the alternative of having no cover at all.
Just because the cheapest policy is not always the best does not mean that the best policy, or even just an adequate policy, has to be expensive.
Public Liability Quotes
By shopping around it is possible for most businesses to obtain affordable cover. The best option is to compare public liability insurance quotes from a range of different insurers, comparing not only the cost but also the features and benefits.
Finding the best value insurance policy is important, but it is also vital to ensure that any policy you choose is going to suit the needs of your business and protect you when you need it most.