If you’re just starting out as an independent Project Person, there are three insurances that you need to have in place before you start work. These insurances are there to both protect you – professional indemnity and public liability, and help make you compliant – Workers Compensation. They can be a little confusing, so see below for the Project People Business Insurance 101 for Public Liability Insurance.
Public Liability Insurance – this is probably the most commonly known.
What is it and what does it cover?
Public Liability Insurance is designed to protect Project People against claims of personal injury or property damage that a third party suffers as a result of your work activities. If someone is injured or their property is damaged while you’re providing a service, they may take legal action against you to recover their losses. Public Liability covers:
- incidents that occur in your workplace
- incidents at other locations
An example could be that one of your clients employees trips over your printer cable and breaks their leg and off work for a month. As a result, your client sues you to recover costs.
For Project People, $10m or $20m Public Liability cover is the most common. More often than not, like Professional Indemnity, your client will specify the level of cover required and will need to see evidence before you start work. For example NSW State Government requires most Project people to hold $20m of Public Liability Insurance. The Certificate of Currency document provides evidence of your insurance.
Claims
If your client makes a claim against you, you need to do the following:
- Do not admit liability. Just listen and do not respond.
- Contact your insurer. Let them take control – this is what they do.
- Do not engage lawyer until your insurer has approved…they may not reimburse you.