Public Liability Insurance

Running a small or large business inevitably exposes you to increased risks in the course of serving the public. While no business owner wishes harm to their customers, accidents can happen. If customers or guests on your property are injured or worse, your business can be threatened with damaging lawsuits that can threaten its financial health.

To prevent these worst-case scenarios from happening, you need to inform yourself about the proper duty of care as a business owner. Do everything you can to make your business safe for customers including posting safety signs and installing protective equipment if and when this is necessary. However, in many cases, accidents are unforeseeable or unavoidable. There is always the potential that simple slips, trips, and falls will injure people while they visit your establishment.

To protect yourself from these types of accidents and things you may have overlooked, it is important that you consider public liability insurance from a reputable insurance broker.

What Is Public Liability Insurance?

Public liability refers to the responsibility of a business owner to exercise proper care and attention when providing goods and services for the public. While issues revolving around duty of care are complicated in legal terms, it is important that as a business owner you take a proactive approach to ensuring the safety of the public on your premises.

Public liability insurance provides comprehensive coverage for any accidents or injuries that may be inflicted on the public while they are visiting your business. It can protect you and your business from the financial damages of a potential lawsuit in the aftermath of these events. While this insurance can cover you in the event of an accident, it is important to note that deliberate or negligent harm caused to your customers may not all under the protection of this type of insurance.

Why Is Public Liability Insurance So Important?

The financial damages of a potential lawsuit in the aftermath of a customer getting injured at your business (or injuring someone in the course of working at their property) can devastate a business. While you certainly do not want injuries to befall your customers – and as the emotional toll of these events will already be devastating for all parties involved – it is critical that you take adequate steps to keep your business up and running in the unlikely event that someone is harmed.

It is important to recognize that the public liability of a business extends to people who are simply on the property of your business (and not necessarily only customers). While so-called “invitees” or customers who you let onto your property are usually those who may file lawsuits in the event of an accident, businesses are often liable if trespassers are harmed (in cases where dangerous situations are deliberately set up such as failing to secure loose wiring that may cause harm). 

Given the magnitude of public liability damages, it is foolhardy not to find a comprehensive insurance package that will protect your business from this possibility.

What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?

Public liability insurance can cover a wide range of potential accidents and harms. This can include bodily injuries that occur on your premises, damage to the property of the public from items used by your business in the course of work (such as when a carpenter is working on the home of a client), and also legal expenses associated with the damages of a public liability lawsuit.

Public liability insurance does not cover accidents that happen to you or your assets in the course of doing business. If your business requires more comprehensive coverage for this purpose, then it is recommended that you also take out a general liability insurance package as well. Furthermore, any injuries that your employees receive in the course of working for you will not be covered by public liability insurance. As the name suggests, public liability insurance only applies to individuals who are visiting your business as customers or guests.

Who Needs Public Liability Insurance?

As a business owner, you need to assess whether public liability insurance is right for you. If you regularly interact with the public in the course of your daily business processes, then it will likely come in handy. This could include businesses where customers visit the premises often (such as in the case of restaurants or shops), where you work at the home or business of your customers (such as a contractor), or where you actively work in public fora such as a professional entertainer.

In most jurisdictions, there is no requirement for a business to have public liability insurance. If you are dealing with the public, however, it needs to be considered essential for any type of business. Since the cost of a potential lawsuit in the aftermath of a customer injury can threaten to bankrupt many small business owners, it makes a great deal of financial sense to secure your business in this way. Limited liability provisions of corporate agreements do not cover the costs of public liabilities and so it is important to seek a more comprehensive insurance package to prevent your business from being exposed to risk.

Why Go With KASE Insurance?

If you want to be confident that your business is covered in the case of any contingency, then you need insurance brokers who understand your company and your industry. We understand that the public liability needs of every business are different. Not all brokers have worked with such a diverse array of clients as the experienced and expert team at KASE Insurance has. 

With KASE Insurance, you can be sure that the well-being of our clients is our top priority. We have worked to solve public liability concerns for many businesses throughout the years in many different industries. We always find a solution that is comprehensive and tailored to the specific needs of each client. 

You can find out more about how our public liability insurance services work in Toronto by getting in touch with our friendly, experienced team. You can reach us by telephone at 647-494-5273 or through our online contact form.