Public and product liability, clearly understood.

If a covered claim is made, public and product liability insurance generally responds to:

• Legal defence costs, which some policies pay in addition to the limit
• Injury to a third party
• Damage to third-party property
• Compensation and settlements, up to your limit
• Claims relating to product design, manufacture or instructions

Extensions worth asking about

• Principal’s indemnity, which covers a head contractor for liability arising from your work
• Tenants liability, which covers your landlord for liability arising from your occupation of the premises
• Vicarious liability for the conduct of agents, contractors or employees
• Care, custody and control cover for property temporarily in your control
• Public relations costs after a covered claim
• Contract review and panel lawyer services, where the insurer offers them

Cover is generally written on an occurrence basis, which means the policy that responds is the one in force when the injury or damage happened, even if the claim is made years later. Some insurers write public and products liability on a claims made and notified basis instead, so we check the basis of cover. For injury or damage that develops gradually, some wordings treat the occurrence as happening when it was first diagnosed or discovered.

A landlord needs public liability for a visitor injured in a common area. A retailer needs product liability if an item it sold fails and injures a customer. Many businesses face both, which is why the two are often combined.

Products is a wider term than manufactured goods. Many wordings include anything installed, repaired, serviced, imported or supplied, so trades and contractors often need product liability for injury or damage that happens after work is handed over.

Property is a core focus for Contega, and public liability for property owners and managers is a natural fit.