public liability/ personal accident cover.

[carlos]

hi.

iam doing a few garden maintance jobs on my own and am thinking about getting public liability cover for my piece of mind, but when i explain to customers that at present i have no form of insurance all they seem concerned with is if i have an accident.

so is this personal accident cover??

do most people have this??

i want to say iam fully insured but dont feel public liability is enough?

hope this makes sense

thanks carl.

[Steve Bullman]

Yes you need personal accident protection if you want to be covered yourself. Public liability only covers 3rd parties

[Rupe]

That is most customers understanding of what insurance is. i.e. for yourself. Especially if you are gardening they are unlikly to see the need for any other form of insurance.

 

Might be best not to tell them your not insured if its causing confusion, and when you get your insurance dont bother telling them that either (unless they ask) as it implies that you NEED insurance, i.e. that you are a liability of some sort.

 

Get the insurance for you piece of mind though if you want. And personal accident insurance that covers out of work aswell is never a bad thing.

[nepia]

I find that customers are reassured by the mention of PL Insurance when they know that any broken greenhouses etc will be paid for.

 

The out-of-work accident insurance is a good suggestion: I've had a non-profit policy (i.e. the money is not invested) running for over 20 years. The premium is low but in the event of loss of a limb or eye you stand to gain a 5-figure payout; there are lower payouts too for lesser injuries.

 

Jon

[Rupe]

I think for tree work they are reassured about PL definatly.

 

The broken greenhouse is often used as an example but if and when this ever happens it would be paid for out of pocket or knocked off the bill. Most excesses on PL are quite high (mines 800 I believe) so thats quite a lot of damage to a greenhouse!

 

So most customers know that even without any insurance the damage to the greenhouse is covered cos they wont pay the bill!! PL is for a lot more than damage to property, yet everyone thinks thats what it is, its actually to cover your liabilty towards a third party.

[nepia]

...its actually to cover your liabilty towards a third party.

 

 

Important point well emphasised.

[carlos]

thanks for the help and suggestions, the public lia for me would be about protecting me in case of injury to third person as hopfully wont be damaging any property.

i guess its just a case of working out if i can afford it , kinda struggling with the princaple of paying for somthing i hope not to use.... and then doing the same next year!!

thanks again

[Rupe]

thanks for the help and suggestions, the public lia for me would be about protecting me in case of injury to third person as hopfully wont be damaging any property.

i guess its just a case of working out if i can afford it , kinda struggling with the princaple of paying for somthing i hope not to use.... and then doing the same next year!!

thanks again

 

 

Decide how high your risk to a third party really is before you pay for insurance that you wont use. If you accept that any damge to property has to be paid for be yourself, and that you have the power to ensure that your client doesnt get injured and that you are not posing a risk to the public then insurance is not that important.

 

If your clients dont ask for it, and your not trying to win contracts that need it then, again, its not highly important. If you need peace of mind then it can be good for that.

[muppetlab]

When you work out what a 3rd party might be able to claim should they be involved in an accident you caused you'll think public liability was pretty damn cheap in comparison. I think that anyone who takes their business seriously should have PL.

[Rupe]

I agree, but the OP is talking about garden maintenance and his clients dont require him to have PL so these things need to be considered before paying out on policies you dont have to have.