Public Liability Insurance protects you and your business if it’s shown your negligence led to someone being injured or having their property damaged.
For example, if the floor in your shop is wet and a customer slips and hurts themselves, or you’re cleaning a client’s house and you accidentally break a window.
Without Public Liability Insurance, legal bills and compensation for these claims could disrupt your cash flow or ruin your business1.
So, whether you run an e-commerce website from your house, work on-site at your clients’ homes, or have a team and an office, Public Liability Insurance can protect you from these unexpected costs.
If you own a business, you may want to consider getting Public Liability Insurance if:
When you work with the public, accidents can happen, and a claim could be made against your business. Public Liability Insurance can help your business cover the cost of a claim.
See what’s included
Injury to someone else
Like if you accidentally leave work tools on the ground and someone trips and injures themselves.
Legal costs
If a claim is made against you, we can cover the cost of your legal defence and compensation.
Injury or damage caused by your products
Like if someone gets sick from a coffee accidentally made with spoiled milk.
Damage to someone's else property
For example if you're moving furniture for a client and accidentally break their lamp.
Other people's property in your control
For example, if you're cleaning a client's car and accidentally scratch the paint.
Staff negligence
Like if your employee doesn't clean up a spill in your shop, and a customer falls and injures themselves.
See what’s not included
Injuries to your staff
Injuries to your staff can be covered by Workers Compensation.
Product recalls
For example, if you sell heaters and there's a national recall.
Paid advice
If you give advice as part of your business, you may need Professional Indemnity Insurance.
Faulty work
For example, if your tiling does not meet required building standards or if your client is not satisfied with the services you provided.
Add these when you get a Public Liability quote
Theft and money
Covers your business against break-in and theft.
Commercial motor vehicles
Covers your business motor vehicles or mobile plant used to operate your business.
Portable property
Covers your business tools of trade and equipment for fire, theft and some other incidents anywhere in Australia.
Eight more optional extras
Add cover for glass, machinery breakdown, electronic equipment and more.
For full details including limits, conditions and exclusions, read these policy documents
Public Liability Insurance is useful for any business that interacts directly or indirectly with the public. This includes sole traders, small business owners and subcontractors.
If a claim is made against your business for injury or damage you caused (either through a service you provided or a product you sold), Public Liability Insurance can provide financial support to help keep you in business1.
Public Liability Insurance (also known as Public and Products Liability Insurance or General and Products Liability Insurance) might not be legally required for your industry, but most businesses consider getting this cover because of the range of risks they face at work. This includes businesses in the following industries:
Tradies like carpenters, electricians and plumbers and more can face risks on the job, like accidentally damaging part of a client’s home or injuring someone on-site with their tools.
Professionals like accountants, engineers, fitness instructors and more could accidentally spill coffee on a client’s laptop and damage it during a meeting, or have their client accidentally get hurt tripping over some uneven flooring in their office.
Retail businesses like shops, florists, hairdressers, barbers and online stores can face risks such as accidentally injuring a customer who visits their shop or causing damage through a product they’ve sold.
Cafes, restaurants, catering companies and more often have customers or suppliers entering their business premises or consuming products they’ve made, putting their business at risk of claims for food poisoning or other third-party injury.
Mechanics, motor vehicle detailers and auto electricians can face risks such as accidentally damaging a customer’s car during a service.
Cleaners, gardeners, pet groomers and more can face risks such as accidentally damaging a client’s property or injuring someone while at work.
Mix and match our policy cover options and pay your premium by the month at no extra cost
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It depends, every business is different. The most common type of insurance for businesses is Public Liability Insurance. This is to protect against claims of negligence, like if you own a shop and a customer trips on a fallen box and hurts themselves, or you run a bakery and a customer gets very sick after eating an unrefrigerated cake.
Legal bills and compensation can be very expensive and put your business’s cash flow at risk. To protect what you’ve built, Public Liability Insurance can cover $5 million, $10 million, $15 million or $20 million worth of these costs, depending on which level of cover you choose. If you need more cover, call us on 132 818.
You can choose to insure your business for up to $5 million, $10 million, $15 million or $20 million AUD. If you need more cover, call us on 132 818.
To learn more about what’s covered, read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Public Liability Insurance is not required by law for most businesses in Australia. Although it may not be compulsory, not having this type of insurance can result in significant financial losses for your business if certain things go wrong at work. Because of this, Public Liability Insurance is still the most common type of insurance among businesses of all sizes and industries, including sole traders, small businesses and larger companies.
There are some business owners that may need Public Liability Insurance to get set up and operate their business. Some examples might include retailers who want to open a store in a shopping centre or tradies who want to take on a contract or start work on a site.
Yes, Public Liability Insurance is suitable for people who are self-employed, including sole traders, small business owners and subcontractors.
Yes, Public Liability Insurance (also known as General and Products Liability Insurance) also covers injury or damage caused by a product you manufacture or sell.
For example, if you run a cafe and a customer gets sick from a coffee accidentally made with spoiled milk, or if you run a bakery and a customer gets sick after eating an unrefrigerated cake you made.
It depends on a number of factors, including the level of cover you choose, the type of business you run and how many staff you have.
The quickest way to get an estimate of how much it costs is to get a quote.
Yes, Public Liability can protect your business against claims of negligence from clients or suppliers who visit your home. For example, if a client comes to your home for a meeting, and they trip on a loose wire and hurt themselves.
The cost of your Public Liability Insurance will vary depending on the type and size of your business.
Every business is different, which is why we offer multiple types and levels of cover to choose from. Based on the risks you face in your line of work, you may choose anywhere from $5 million of Public Liability cover to $20 million of Public Liability cover. You may also choose to add extra cover options to your policy to protect other areas of your business. This will affect the cost of your premium.
The best way to explore your Business Insurance options and find out how much it will cost is to get a quote.
If you have a Business Insurance policy with us and need to make a claim, we’re here for you. We offer 24/7 claims lodgement over the phone, so you can make your claim as soon as possible. For more information about making a claim, you can visit our Claims page.
There are 3 ways to get a copy of your Certificate of Currency, Certificate of Insurance or tax invoice:
Public Liability Insurance protects you in case of damage or injury caused by your staff or on your business premises. For example, if you’re a tradie working on a job site and someone trips over your tools and hurts themselves.
Professional Indemnity Insurance protects you in case of damage caused by your negligent or mistaken professional advice or services. For example, if you offer tax advice as part of your accounting practice and the information turns out to be incorrect and negatively impacts your customer.
You can get Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance, or both when you get a quote.
