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There are various forms of insurance that will be required by a financial advice or financial planning firm.
Amongst those insurances required will be public liability. In this guide we will look at whether or not your business requires this form of insurance and how much it might cost you.
Does My Firm Need It?
This depends on the type of firm that you are running. A few questions you’ll want to ask yourself first are as follows:
- Do I operate from home or an office?
- Will I have members of the general public visiting my home or office?
- Will I be visiting clients in their homes?
If you operate an office and have people visiting you, there is no question that public liability insurance is vital for your business.
But many financial advisers work from a home office, and some experts argue that public liability cover will not be required provided that no clients visit you at home.
On the surface this seems fair enough, but what about BDMs and other people who may visit your home office? Sure they may not be clients, but if they injure themselves at your home you may still be liable.
Another consideration is the damage you may cause at someone else’s home. If you are visiting a client’s home and you knock over a $5,000 antique vase, you may find yourself liable for the replacement cost.
Ultimately all financial advice and planning firms can benefit from public liability, regardless of whether the business is run from home or an office, and regardless of how you see your clients.
What Will It Cover?
Public liability insurance is intended to cover the costs of property damage or personal injury that is suffered by another person as a result of your negligence.
Such negligence may come in the form of leaving a power cord running across a corridor in your office that trips and injures a visitor.
If you are shown to be liable for the person’s injuries and their resulting costs, your public liability insurance should be there to cover the claim.
How Much Is It?
Because the risk of injury within a financial planning firm are relatively low compared to other workplaces involving manual work, the cost of public liability insurance for such a firm are quite low.
It’s also important to remember that public liability is different to professional indemnity which you’ll also need. The good news however is that public liability will be a lot less expensive.
The easiest way to get a quote on your public liability cover is to speak with a licensed insurance broker. You can request a quote via our website and we will put you in touch with a suitable broker.