There are different types of Liability Insurance that you may have heard of or may even have but don’t quite understand. Liability Insurance can mean either Public Liability and Product Liability. A combination is a great idea to make sure you cover your bases. Here are the differences between the two and why a combination can work well for tradies.
What is the Difference Between Public and Product Liability?
Public Liability
Public Liability Insurance covers tradies in the case of third party injury or third party property damage. If this happens on the job, Public Liability steps in to help pay for the damages or for the associated medical costs. For example if you break a windscreen of a car on the street below where you are working your insurance can step in to help pay for the replacement or repair. Likewise if someone trips over a cable you’ve left running the hallway and breaks a leg, the insurance will help to pay for the medical bills associated with the recovery of the third party if you are found liable. Of course, third parties are not employees or other workers on site.
Product Liability
Product Liability Insurance steps in after you have left the work site. If something goes wrong with your work after you have left the clients home, or have finished a job, then this insurance helps to pay for the damage or injury caused as a result. For example a light fitting might fall out of the ceiling and injure someone, or wall hangings might not be secure enough and precious art work might fall down and become damaged. You can be held liable for these costs long after you’ve left. In this case the medical bills or replacement could be taken care of by the insurance.
Having a combination of these two insurances can help to protect your business from risks that happen immediately and also later. Which is important if you provide a service or product to your clients. In many cases Public Liability Insurance is also mandatory before entering work sites so make sure to also check this with a site manager or building company.
Get a Quote
Of course as with many insurances you will have an excess to pay, a sum insured for, and policy wording which can stipulate what is and isn’t covered. Make sure you are aware of your policy and what you are covered for. The information above is only of a general nature, if you are unsure or need a quote for your Public or Product Liability Insurance for your tradie job contact us at All Trades Cover today and we’ll be more than happy to help.
