Public liability insurance is not a legal requirement that businesses need to have, but it is certainly highly recommended. For one thing if someone sued your business it could spell the end of your start-up business dream.
Public liability insurance basically covers you against any kind of injury or illness a member of the public, or somebody who is not associated with your business, might sustain on your property.
So, if you’re not covered by this insurance and a member of the public breaks their wrist by tripping on a loose wire on your business premises, you will probably be the subject of a court case and be liable to pay all of the necessary legal fees. This, needless to say, can turn out to be very expensive indeed and will more than likely spell the end for your business.
The very nature of starting up in business means that cash flow is always strained, so getting self employed public liability insurance just seems to add to the difficulties. But imagine how difficult it would be without it. It is the same as any kind of insurance.
Nobody likes paying travel insurance but everybody knows that if anything went wrong on holiday, you would be unnecessarily paying out all over the place. In the business game, there is just as much on the line – of course, health is more important than business, but it is probably a bigger financial risk to omit public liability from your business plan.
It is a pain to be paying for something just in case it happens, but once you factor it in to your finances from the very beginning, you will be able to get on with actually running and developing your business to make it successful. If something unfortunate does happen, at least you know that you are covered and that it won’t be a financial bombshell on you and your business.
