Why Contractors Need Public Liability Insurance
By: alfredalton | Posted: 10th August 2010
If you're a contractor, then you know that you are responsible for many things. Everything from your employees, the project, the client, and the business rely on you to make the right decisions. Because of this, there are many risks to being a contractor and you should consider getting contractors liability insurance to protect yourself from any losses. Even though you are not working on the job, you will be responsible if anything happens. Some of the things that can happen are your employees getting injured, the project going wrong because of mistakes made by employees, pedestrians getting hurt on the job, and damage to equipment (even theft of equipment).
The result can be catastrophic for many contractors because the damages can ruin your business. Most people do not have the financial backing to incur the damage. That's why you need to make sure that you are protected by an insurance plan. When buying contractors liability insurance in Australia there are several things to look at. One of the most necessary plans is the indemnity insurance. If any mistakes are made by you or your employees, this plan will cover you for any damages. This is a very assuring plan for contractors as they cannot always control what their employees are doing and can't always insure they're doing the job right.
Public liability is another important plan. If a pedestrian gets injured or incurs any damages on the job site, then you will be responsible. You may have to pay for the damages even if it's not your fault. Other plans to consider are disability insurance, income protection, and tools of trade insurance. What are the pros and cons of getting liability insurance? First, you will be protected from the worst case scenario. As a contractor, you open yourself to more risks than other types of businesses. It's not rare for contractors to face having to pay for damages because something went wrong.
Second, having contractors liability insurance will be important to both clients and employees. Employees want to work with a contractor that is insured. Clients also know that they are at risk if something goes wrong so they'd rather work with a contractor that is backed with a strong policy. Of course the cons of getting contractors liability insurance is that this will have to be another expense to your business. This is an obvious concern but it doesn't cost much to protect yourself with a plan. Look into this and try to look at which combination of plans make sense and is affordable. It's always more expensive to have to pay for damages when the worst happens.
So if you are looking contractor liability in Australia, evaluate your business and think about what kind of risks you are opening yourself to. Work with the right company and figure out what you need to be safe and ensure that you and your business are protected.
This article was prepared on behalf of GCR Insurance. Arrange a free quick quote by going to our website http://www.gcrinsurance.com.au
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Tags: pros and cons, decisions, many things, australia, losses, damages, insurance, types of businesses, pedestrians, worst case scenario, insurance plan, pedestrian, disability insurance, indemnity insurance, public liability