Liability Insurance

Coversure have a vast experience in Public and Employers' Liability insurance, and have formed very good relationships over the years with underwriters. We therefore have access to a wide range of products with agreed discounts.

We can offer policies to suit your requirements, whether you are a one man band or a director of a large company with many employees. We also have broker-issue policies which mean you can have access to your employers' liability certificate or public liability schedule in minutes. Whatever your business, we can offer a policy that matches your needs, whether you are in the building allied trades, a pool cleaner, a doorman or a petrochemical engineer, we can cover it all.

Most businesses need just a simple stand alone liability policy which is easy enough to arrange, but if you need additional extras, we can provide you with advice about this as well.

There are many add-ons you may want to take, and we have markets for all of the following (some of these are also available separately):

With our experience we can talk you through the extensions available and any exclusions that may apply. Policies can vary enormously in terms of what they do or don't cover, such as differing height limits, certain related higher risk activities or what locations work can be done at. Each insurance company will have different terms in order to appeal to a different part of the market, so two similarly priced policies may in fact be quite different.

Also, we understand that your business is individual, and you may have different needs to someone else in the same industry - for example, commercial electricians may need cover for efficacy and 3 phase work included on their policies, but this doesn't apply to domestic electricians. Then there's also other cover issues such as employers' liability, which seems simple on the surface, but can be quite complex depending on your circumstances - for example, whether a sub contractor is considered to be an employee under law, and when he isn't. We can advise you on all the ins and outs of liability that may apply to you, so for friendly and professional advice, call us on 0800 977 4200.

FAQ's

What is Public Liability Insurance?

Public liability insurance provides cover should you cause bodily injury to third parties or material damage to a third party's property. It does not normally cover defective workmanship (efficacy).

What is Bodily Injury?

Bodily injury is where you cause someone physical harm, for example, you drop a heavy item on someone's foot and injure them.

What is Material Damage?

This is damage caused to someone's physical belongings, for example, a builder drops a tile off a roof onto someone's car and damages it.

What is a Third party?

A third party is someone not directly related to you or your company. In most cases, your customer is a third party.

Why doesn't Public Liability Insurance cover defective workmanship (efficacy)?

It is generally assumed that you are properly qualified and experienced in your particular trade. Therefore, the majority of insurance companies do exclude efficacy, however we are able to include it for certain trades.

What is Service Indemnity cover?

In the example of a motor trader, this covers any damage caused to the vehicle being worked on, which their public liability insurance would not cover. Their public liability insurance protects them if a customer comes onto their premises and perhaps falls over some tools left lying around and hurts themselves.

What is Treatment Risk insurance?

As public liability does not cover the "item" (or customer) you are working on, if you are a hairdresser, beautician, tattooist/bodyartist or other related trade, you will need cover for the treatments you apply. Treatment risk provides cover in case you cause injury to a person you apply a treatment to.

What is Employers' Liability Insurance?

If you employ anyone, or you are a limited company, it is a legal requirement to have employers' liability insurance to provide cover should an employee be injured or hurt in the course of carrying out their work. The only exceptions to this are if you only employ close, direct relatives, such as a brother/sister/son/daughter/father/mother or you have a limited company and you are the only director, with no other employees. Employers' liability is only available as an add-on to an existing public liability insurance.

What is Product Liability?

If, as part of your business, you supply and/or fit a part, you will need product liability cover should bodily injury or property damage occur as a result of the product being faulty. Even if you did not actually manufacture the part yourself, but just supplied it, there are some circumstances where a customer can make a claim against you. Product liability cover is usually, but not always, incorporated into a public liability insurance policy.

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Professional Indemnity insurance is similar to public liability insurance, but covers liability arising from losses due to advice given or design work. Professional trades such as doctors, design consultants, and legal or financial services, advise people on all sorts of aspects of life and business, and the wrong advice can sometimes cause losses which are not necessarily physical. These can range from loss of reputation or financial losses, to the failure of a critically designed component to perform properly, such as an alarm or safety system.

Do you cover market traders?

No, we do not cover public or employers' liability for market traders. We suggest you contact the National Market Traders Federation who provide liability cover as part of their membership benefits.

What trades do you cover?

Click here for a current list of trades we cover under standard policies. We also have relations with several insurers who will do bespoke liability policies for more unusual trades, including Lloyds of London markets.