Never a more important time for business liability insurance

Today’s economics climate has caused billions of pounds worth of problems for companies – both large and small. As more and more businesses find their backs are up against the wall, one significant and unexpected cost could easily finish them off. So now – more than ever – is the right time to examine your business liability insurance and any potential risks you may face.

Type of business liability insurance

Business liability can come from a number of angles and there’s an insurance product designed for each. These liability protection products can usually be combined into one policy to reduce your admin and give you some cost savings too.

This form of insurance enables your company to meet the costs of damages and legal fees for employees who may make a claim having been injured or fallen ill at work as a result of the action of the employer. Employees can seek compensation even once the company has gone into receivership or liquidation and the NHS can also claim for the cost of hospital treatment when a personal injury claim is successful.

If your business interacts with members of the public in anyway – if they come to your premises or you visit theirs – public liability insurance can provide you with cover for any awards of damages as a result of damage caused to a member of the public or their property. The premiums are based on the type of business and the level of public facing activity.

Any company selling a product to the public must ensure they are ‘fit for purpose’. Product liability insurance is designed to cover your for damages and legal fees resulting from claims made against your legal responsibility. Even if you’re just a supplier in a chain, someone could make a claim against you first and you may then need to claim from your supplier or manufacturer. But this would entail you putting up the legal costs for both claims upfront. This is where product liability insurance can protect you from financial ruin.

Where product liability insurance is designed to cover physical products, professional indemnity insurance is set up to deal with negligent advice and services where similar damages and claims may arise. For some professions and occupations, it is a legal requirement to have professional indemnity insurance cover.

Finding the best business liability insurance policy

The rise of insurance comparison websites has concentrated on the more mainstream products to date. But business insurance comparison is a growing market and the tools being developed here can save you from hours on the phone and form filling by comparing the leading business insurers in seconds.

We all read the stories in the news about huge, multi-national companies being taken to court over seemingly ludicrous matters – “Coffee too hot”, “Peanuts in the peanut butter”, “Your fast-food made me obese” – and we all have a chuckle. Yet worryingly, especially if you own a business, many of these cases are actually won by the claimants, leading to huge payouts from the companies involved. What’s more, if the correct business liability insurance is not in place, the businesses involved are in serious trouble financially.

Yet it’s hard to know exactly what type of business liability insurance you need – cover and needs differ if you are a small to medium sized outfit, a large multi-national company or self-employed working out of your home. What remains true of all, however, is the need to have the right business liability insurance in place, especially as the liability environment in the UK becomes more complex.

Business Liability Insurance – Arm Yourself With Information

Business Liability Insurance is a legal requirement in the UK, but there are varying degrees of cover you can purchase. Smaller businesses often struggle to find insurance for their needs as they may not be able to afford all of the cover on offer under standard business liability policies, and they actually may not need all of the elements on offer under the policy – if you work from home, it can be even trickier to find a policy to suit your needs. It’s certainly worth doing some research to establish exactly what kind of business liability insurance you need and which company can best provide it – a search on the internet and insurance comparison sites can often be the best place to start.

Business liability insurance covers the cost of people connected with your business who may become ill or injured in some way – for example, as soon as you hire somebody, the law states you must have employer’s liability insurance, in place. Without this, you expose yourself to both breaking the law and potentially being sued by an employee if they are injured at work. Public liability insurance protects your business if a member of the public is injured in some way by your business or one of your employees, and professional indemnity insurance is worth considering if you have a business which offers members of the public advice in any way – if you make a mistake and are sued, your costs are covered.

Protect Your Business

To ensure your business is fully protected make sure you get reliable advice from the professionals and do your own research before committing to anything – after all you are the person who knows your business, and it’s needs, the best. When it comes to business liability insurance you cannot afford to be complacent – your livelihood could be at stake one day.