Public Liability Insurance covers an individual or company for personal injury and/or property damage caused to third parties as a result of an occurrence arising out of their business activities.

Products Liability covers damage caused from anything manufactured, grown, extracted, produced, processed, constructed, erected, assembled, installed, repaired, serviced, treated, sold, supplied or distributed, after it has ceased to be in the possession or under the control of your company.

If you import products into Australia, it is very important that you consider products liability insurance. Under the Trade Practices Act, importers are deemed to be manufacturers of the products that they introduce to the Australian market.

That is, your business is responsible under law for any products imported by you as though you had manufactured the product yourself.

Public liability insurance should be held by any sole trader, partnership or company that has a potential exposure to property damage or personal injury.

If there is any chance that you or your business could lead to damage or injury, then you need the cover.

For many businesses public liability insurance is mandatory. This is especially true in the trades and construction industry, where most subcontractors and contractors will need to show evidence of their insurance before they are allowed onto the work site.

Public liability insurance is also required by law in order to operate certain types of businesses.

For example in Victoria you must show proof of your public liability cover in order to obtain or renew your plumbing contractor’s licence.

The most common levels of cover available are $5 million, $10 million and $20 million. Some insurers do however offer a higher limit on request. A frequently selected level of cover is $10 million as most insurers are moving away from the $5 million cover.

When selecting a level that is most suitable to your businesses requirements, you need to consider the following:

Although public liability does cover you for negligence, you still need to take responsibility and act in a professional way.

A good example of this is over-spray.

Although many policies will cover over-spray damage caused when spray painting, you still need to use your good judgement and not spray paint on a windy day, without any protection and in close proximity to cars or other property which could be damaged by over-spray.

Whilst your public liability insurance would possibly still payout in this situation, if the insurance company felt that you had acted recklessly they would likely not offer to renew your insurance at its next expiry.

After one insurer has refused a renewal, you must tell any other insurance company about the refusal, which can often lead to them refusing you as well and leaving you without any insurance.

Of course it makes good business sense to always act in a professional way without any negligence, however mistakes do happen and that’s why public liability insurance is required.

Webber Insurance has access to over a hundred different markets ranging from local, interstate and overseas to ensure that we can find a suitable insurance product for your business at a competitive price in the market.

To arrange an obligation free quote please click the button below or if you would like more information or have any questions, please call us on 1300 932 237.