Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance protects you and your business against the financial risk of being found liable to a third party for death or injury, loss or damage to property or economic loss resulting from your negligence.

Scope

Three types of Public Liability Policies are available.

• Public Liability Non-Industrial Risk -- Suitable for offices, hotels, cinema houses, hospitals, schools etc
• Public Liability Industrial Risk - For godowns, warehouses and factories
• Public Liability Insurance Act 1991 - This is a mandatory policy to be taken by owners, users or transporters of a hazardous substance as defined under Environment (Protection) Act 1986 above the minimum quantity specified under the Public Liability Insurance Act 1991.

Key Benefits

• It will cover your financial liability towards third parties due to accidents caused because of your business
• It will cover financial liability following accidental damage to public property or life caused due to your business
• It will let you continue with your work without any hindrance and worrying about financial liability issues
• It will help get coverage for legal fees to defend the case.

Coverages

• Legal liability of the insured towards any damages to the third party's life or property
• Legal costs and expenses incurred by the insured with the prior consent of the company
• Accidental death & bodily injury

Add on Cover

• Pollution Cover
• Transportation Cover
• Technical Collaborators Liability
• Effluents Risk: Covers carriage of effluents outside the premises
• Natural calamities like flood, earthquake etc.

Exclusions

The policy does not cover liability arising out of

• Earthquake, earth-tremor, volcanic eruption, flood, storm, tempest, typhoon, hurricanes, tornado, cyclone or other Similar convulsions of nature and atmospheric disturbance
• Deliberate, willful or intentional non-compliance of any Statutory provision or disregard of the insured's technical or administrative management
• Loss of purely financial nature such as loss of goodwill, loss of market etc.
• All personal injuries such as libel slander, false arrest, wrongful eviction/ detention, defamation etc., and resultant mental injury, anguish or shock
• Infringement of plans, copyright, patent, trade name, trademark, or registered design
• Fines, penalties, punitive or exemplary damages or any other damages
• War group nuclear group and Act of God of perils
• Transportation of materials and dangerous substances unless specifically covered
• Ownership, possession or use by or on behalf of the insured of any aircraft, watercraft or hovercraft
• Injury to any person under a contract of employment/apprenticeship, with the insured, when such injury arises out of the execution of contract
• Arising under the Public Liability Insurance Act or any other statute that may come into force after the issue of this policy
• Assumed by the insured by any agreement and which would not have attached in the absence of such agreement

Claim Process

In the event of loss, the following are immediate actions to be taken
To intimate to the insurer the occurrence of loss, submit a full statement in writing of the claim, provide the nature and extent of loss and also the estimate of amount claimed by third parties.
Any delay in intimation might jeopardize the claim as the insurer may express an inability in accepting liability of the loss/damage.

• To take all steps to reduce and minimize the extent of loss/damage and liability.
• Proximate cause of the loss and assess the type/extent and whether it is within the scope of the policy.
• To extend full co-operation to the insurer and the surveyor appointed for completion of the survey work and for proper assessment of the loss.
• Produce all such records and proof as may be required by the surveyor or the insurer for arriving at the extent of loss and the liability under the policy.
• Provide documents such as claim form, copy of the policy, demand letter, Incident note, etc.