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Key takeaways
Public liability insurance can protect you if your business harms anyone or their property.
Public liability insurance can cover compensation costs, legal fees, medical costs and more.
Depending on your line of work, public liability insurance may be mandatory to operate.
What is public liability insurance?
Public liability insurance is a type of cover that protects you if your business becomes legally liable if someone is injured or their property is damaged.
It refers to damages from the physical surroundings and physical property rather than damages from services you provide. For example, it will cover you if someone slips and falls on your property, but not if you splash bleach into their eye while dyeing their hair.
What does public liability insurance cover?
Legal liability. Public liability insurance provides cover when a court finds that you are legally responsible to pay damages and additional costs for: damage to someone else's property, personal injury to someone else, and advertising liability
Legal costs. If a legal liability claim is made against you, your public liability policy will cover the costs incurred in your legal defence.
Cover for other people. Public liability will not only include you but any director, business partner, executive officer, shareholder or employee.
Cover for other activities. Many policies will allow you to extend cover beyond your normal business activities to include the provision of sports and child care facilities, first aid and ambulance services, and the provision of food and beverages to employees and visitors.
Products liability. Some policies will also include products liability cover for injury or damage caused by your products.
Damage to goods in possession or legal control. Provides cover for physical damage to goods that are not owned by the insured but are in their possession or legal control.
First aid expenses. Provides cover for expenses incurred by the insured for first aid given to other parties at the time of an injury.
According to APRA's latest report (2021), there were a total of 26,583 public liability claims. This is the lowest amount of claims in 13 years.
Who needs public liability insurance?
Essentially, anyone who owns a business and interacts with the public should consider public liability insurance. It's designed to protect you from the costs arising from any injury to a person or damage to someone's property that happens within your place of business.
In some industries and for certain government contracts, public liability insurance will be mandatory.
Keep in mind, public liability insurance is different to professional indemnity insurance. If you harm someone via the services you offer, public liability wouldn't cover you - but professional indemnity insurance would.
What affects the cost of public liability insurance?
What your business does. Some businesses simply attract more risk than others. For example, the risk of injury or damage on a construction site will be higher than that of a retail store. Insurers will analyse what you do, compare this to past claims in that industry and factor this into your premium.
How big your business is. The larger the business, the higher the risk of injury or damage.
Your business location. You can expect a higher premium if your business is in a high-risk location, such as an airport, construction site, railway station or mine site.
The structure of your policy. You can affect the price of your policy by choosing a higher or lower excess or higher or lower benefit limits.
Expert insight
"Insurance policies can be difficult to understand especially when you're trying to get adequate cover and the 'best bang for your buck', so I suggest business owners consult an insurance expert each year to have their insurance needs assessed. A good broker takes time to understand your business and will provide you with recommendations that work for your business. Plus, in most cases, there's no direct fees involved for your business."
Negligence in your service. This is covered by professional indemnity insurance (e.g. cover if you incorrectly install a kitchen sink).
Injuries to your employees. This is covered by workers compensation (e.g cover for injuries, illnesses in the workplace).
Your policy will have a list of exclusions listed in the product disclosure statement, be sure to read this to understand what you are and are not covered for.
Public liability insurance premiums are considered a business expense and are therefore tax deductible. Each year you'll get a tax invoice from either your insurer or your broker, depending on who sold you the policy.
It depends on the state. You should check with your state insurance commission whether your business should have mandatory public liability insurance. However, employers' liability insurance is required by many states.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been reviewed by Justine Mclean, a member of Finder's Editorial Review Board.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 645 Finder guides across topics including:
Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio
In order to find the right level of public liability cover assess the risks your business faces to determine just how much cover you need. Compare the benefits, limits and exclusions of a number of policies, while it’s also a good idea to obtain multiple quotes from competing insurers.
I am secretary for a Senior Citizens Association. We conduct indoor activities 2 mornings a week with a Dance every Saturday night. We have 370 members. Can you find an Insurance Company to cover public liability for accidents.
Finder
AngusSeptember 19, 2024Finder
Hi Philip, You should be able to get public liability cover for this from many providers. If you want to seek a quote from a broker, fill out the form on this page (you’d come under ‘Cultural & Recreational Services’). Hope this helps!
SandraFebruary 8, 2018
I have a group meeting once a month in local church hall and are required to have public liability by the Diocese……can you help?
AshMarch 1, 2018
Hi Sandra,
Thank you for reaching out to us.
Public liability insurance will give assurance to the Church that the costs of any property damage if that has occurred through the negligence of the third party using the premises, will be covered. To get a sample quotation for the Public liability insurance, please submit your details via the form on the public liability insurance page, a business insurance broker will be in touch to discuss the different options available and provide you with a quote. This service is provided free of charge and there is absolutely no obligation to sign up for a policy.
Please ensure that you read through the relevant Product Disclosure Statements/Terms and Conditions before you sign up for a policy.
I hope this helps.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us again if you have additional questions.
Cheers,
Ash
MollyJuly 12, 2017
Hi, I have a dilemma and cannot find a satisfying solution to. I work as an Educator in my own home.
I am registered with the gov’t and come under the Family day care Scheme. This is my 9th year and my only working hours are from 7am -9am ( 2 HOURS ONLY ) ( Mon – Fri ) aka known as before school care. No one is interested in pro -rata. They insist I pay the same as other educators who do 10 hours a day. I make a measly $15.000 per year ( Hardly rolling in it ) Is there another option for me. Can you help please?
Thank you & kind regards
Molly
JonathanJuly 16, 2017
Hello Molly,
Thank you for the comment. :)
We understand that paying the same premiums with full-time counterparts can be challenging. :(
We suggest that you consult your concern with your local insurance commission to determine if it’s required to have cover in your employment conditions and what options you have under your present circumstances.
In case you’ll be allowed to take your own cover, you may send your details to a broker so that they can give you personalized services on getting the right quote.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan
TracyMay 4, 2017
hi, my name is Tracy and I am after public liability insurance for my wedding styling, hiring service company.
Could you please provide me with some quotes??
Thanks
Finder
ZubairMay 5, 2017Finder
Hi Tracy,
Thank you for your inquiry.
You have contacted finder.com.au, a comparison and information service and not actually an insurer.
You can receive a quote for public liability insurance by entering your details into the enquiry form on the top of this page. Once you have done so an adviser will be in touch to discuss your policy options. This service is provided free of charge and there is absolutely no obligation to sign up for a policy.
Cheers,
Zubair
HarjeetMarch 1, 2017
I’m looking public liability insurance for my taxi
Finder
ZubairMarch 2, 2017Finder
Hi Harjeet,
Thank you for your question.
finder.com.au is a comparison and information service and not actually an insurer. To get a quote for public liability insurance for your taxi, it would be best to reach out to an advisor through the inquiry form who will take all your circumstances into account and offer you a range of insurance options through insurers in our panel.
Cheers,
Zubair
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I am secretary for a Senior Citizens Association. We conduct indoor activities 2 mornings a week with a Dance every Saturday night. We have 370 members. Can you find an Insurance Company to cover public liability for accidents.
Hi Philip, You should be able to get public liability cover for this from many providers. If you want to seek a quote from a broker, fill out the form on this page (you’d come under ‘Cultural & Recreational Services’). Hope this helps!
I have a group meeting once a month in local church hall and are required to have public liability by the Diocese……can you help?
Hi Sandra,
Thank you for reaching out to us.
Public liability insurance will give assurance to the Church that the costs of any property damage if that has occurred through the negligence of the third party using the premises, will be covered. To get a sample quotation for the Public liability insurance, please submit your details via the form on the public liability insurance page, a business insurance broker will be in touch to discuss the different options available and provide you with a quote. This service is provided free of charge and there is absolutely no obligation to sign up for a policy.
Please ensure that you read through the relevant Product Disclosure Statements/Terms and Conditions before you sign up for a policy.
I hope this helps.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us again if you have additional questions.
Cheers,
Ash
Hi, I have a dilemma and cannot find a satisfying solution to. I work as an Educator in my own home.
I am registered with the gov’t and come under the Family day care Scheme. This is my 9th year and my only working hours are from 7am -9am ( 2 HOURS ONLY ) ( Mon – Fri ) aka known as before school care. No one is interested in pro -rata. They insist I pay the same as other educators who do 10 hours a day. I make a measly $15.000 per year ( Hardly rolling in it ) Is there another option for me. Can you help please?
Thank you & kind regards
Molly
Hello Molly,
Thank you for the comment. :)
We understand that paying the same premiums with full-time counterparts can be challenging. :(
We suggest that you consult your concern with your local insurance commission to determine if it’s required to have cover in your employment conditions and what options you have under your present circumstances.
In case you’ll be allowed to take your own cover, you may send your details to a broker so that they can give you personalized services on getting the right quote.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Jonathan
hi, my name is Tracy and I am after public liability insurance for my wedding styling, hiring service company.
Could you please provide me with some quotes??
Thanks
Hi Tracy,
Thank you for your inquiry.
You have contacted finder.com.au, a comparison and information service and not actually an insurer.
You can receive a quote for public liability insurance by entering your details into the enquiry form on the top of this page. Once you have done so an adviser will be in touch to discuss your policy options. This service is provided free of charge and there is absolutely no obligation to sign up for a policy.
Cheers,
Zubair
I’m looking public liability insurance for my taxi
Hi Harjeet,
Thank you for your question.
finder.com.au is a comparison and information service and not actually an insurer. To get a quote for public liability insurance for your taxi, it would be best to reach out to an advisor through the inquiry form who will take all your circumstances into account and offer you a range of insurance options through insurers in our panel.
Cheers,
Zubair