What are some common types of public liability insurance claims?
Depending on your occupation, a public liability claim might look a little different for your business compared to someone else’s.
Public liability insurance covers you for claims made by a third-party. This could be from a customer, a client, or a member of the public. The most common causes of these claims tend to be:
- Slips, trips, or falls that cause someone to get injured
- Accidental damage causes to a third party or their belongings.
Examples of possible public liability insurance claims
Every occupation is different, and so are the risks that come with them. Below we’ve outlined some common claims scenarios from some popular occupations that we cover.
So, if you’d like to see what a typical claims situation might be for these occupations have a look below.
Please note: The following the examples are representative only. If you need to make a public liability insurance claim you can find out more here.
Barbers
You’re shaving someone’s hair and get momentarily distracted. As a result, your hand slips and you accidentally cut them with your clippers.
When this happens, you’ll be facing a claim. It’s important that you let us know as soon as a claim is made so that we can help get this matter sorted.
How much you have to pay out on a claim is going to vary depending on the circumstances and the excess of your policy. With our cover you’re covered for up to £5 million in compensation and up to £1 million in legal costs for claims of accidental bodily injury.
Without public liability, your business would be liable to pay the total cost of the claim awarded, as well as the cost of any legal proceedings.
Cleaners
You’ve just carefully cleaned the floor of your latest job but forgot to put out your trusty ‘wet floor’ sign. Now, a customer has slipped and fallen on your wet floor, resulting in a nasty injury.
How much you have to pay out on a claim is going to vary depending on the circumstances and the excess of your policy. With our cover you’re covered for up to £5 million in compensation and up to £1 million in legal costs for claims of accidental bodily injury.
In a case like this, you would also have to consider the of ongoing medical treatment if your customer has sustained an ongoing injury as a result their fall.
Without public liability, your business would be liable to pay the total cost of the claim awarded, as well as the cost of any legal proceedings. If more than one customer happened to have slipped on this occasion, you would be liable of several claims.
Contractors
After one of your employees drops tool from the top of your scaffolding you notice it landed right on the windscreen of your customers brand new car.
With our cover you’re protected for up to £5 million in compensation and legal costs covering up £1 million for defending against loss or damage to third-party property – in this case your customer’s car.
In this type of case, although nobody was hurt, you’re still liable for the damage that has been caused to your customers car. Even though the damage was caused by one of your employees, you’re still covered.
Public liability covers the actions of both you and your employees – not to be confused with Employers’ Liability, which protects you from claims made by an employee.
Electrician
After months of working on a new wiring system for a property, you find out that the system you installed is responsible for a serious fire in the building.
With AXA’s Business Insurance you’re protected for up to £5 million in compensation and legal costs covering up to £1 million for defending against loss or damage to third-party property.
Alongside slips and trips, one of the main risks of claims for electricians is fire caused by faulty or improper wiring. If a fire breaks out at one of the properties you’ve worked on, then it causes total loss for you customer and a hefty claim for your business.
In this kind of case, there may be several things to consider when it comes to the cost you’ll have to pay, such as the damage or losses caused by the fire and any injuries caused as a result.
Café owner
You’ve prepared a fresh batch of vegan cakes for sale that day in your café and they are a sell-out hit. However, you later find out that several people have had serious allergic reactions due to cross contamination from improper storage of your non-vegan baked goods.
In this case, you could be facing multiple separate claims for injury to your customers if you don’t have insurance, meaning these costs could quickly spiral out of control.
For this case, you would be covered for products liability as standard under your public liability policy. Public liability covers you for legal costs or expenses of up to £1 million in connection with alleged breach of statutory duty under health and safety and/or food safety legislation.
How do I make a public liability insurance claim?
We all like to think the worst will never happen to us, but if it does, we’ve got your back. We know that making a claim can be a stressful time for any business owner, so we strive to make our claims process as straightforward as possible.
If you find yourself needing to make a claim, our dedicated business insurance claims page has all the information you need to walk through the process step by step. From that initial claim to a resolution, we’ve got your back.