Businesses that are directly associated with public are prone to liabilities as there are chances of accidents, even after making a conscientious effort to avoid them. If your customer or any other person sues you for death, injury or property damage at your premises and if you do not have public liability insurance, you may face significant costs that can cripple your business.

These liabilities pose a severe financial threat to the businesses. Apart from the claimed amount, the high legal costs incurred in defending the cases filed by the third-parties are also to be paid by the company. Hence, having public liability insurance is very important to get out of these unexpected heavy expenses.

Read on further to know about the frequency of personal injuries at business places and how the public liability insurance helps in protecting your business from these claims.

Statistics of injury claims: According to the reports released by the Injuries Board of Ireland, there were 8,645 personal injury claims lodged in the year 2009. Among them, one in six (17%) were related to public liability, with an average award amounted to 23,143 Euros for each claim. Nearly 51% of these accidents took place in privately owned establishments, 25% in retail/shopping outlets and 19% in pubs/night clubs or restaurants. With this high rate of accidents, businesses are required to take a public liability insurance to stay guarded of future legal claims.

Listed below are the benefits of having public liability insurance.

Reimbursement of claimed amount along with legal fees: Public liability insurance compensates you with the amount of reimbursement claimed by the third-party and also the money paid as legal charges for fending such claims. This is especially significant since you are required to pay large amounts of money as legal fees.

Covers expenses related to property damage: In addition to death and injury, the damage or loss caused to the property of the third-party is also covered. Hence, a public liability policy provides the third-party with the repairing costs of the damaged property or the cost needed to buy a new property.

Offers recovery expenses: Another good thing about the policy is that it offers recovery expenses. Along with the claimed amount and legal fees, the policy also provides medical aid to the injured person. This insurance covers costs related to hospitalization, treatment cost, medical bills, rehabilitation, and other damages. Some policies also offer domestic help and other aids to help the victim recover quickly.

Provides assistance in legal dealings: The main advantage of liability policy is that the business owners do not have to constantly worry about the legal fights. The insurance company deals with all the legal complexities associated with the claim. For instance, if you lose the case, the insurance company pays the compensation and the legal fees, and if you win the case, it collects the legal fees from the injured party. This way the insurance company eliminates your legal hassles.

Protects the employees: Public liability insurance cover helps and protects the employees in case they are responsible for any accident that injures or damages a third-party or his property due to negligence at work. As they represent the company, the policy indirectly protects them from legal costs. This shows the company's concern towards its employees.

In order to survive in this litigious society, every business needs public liability insurance to protect itself from the risks, costs and compensations associated with accidents.