How To Defend A Public Liability Claim Against Your Business
If you run a small business or work in an industry where you interact with the public or with suppliers, you must have public liability insurance (PLI) cover in place. PLI is there to protect you in the event that someone makes a claim for injury to themselves or damage to their property. But what happens if you are subject to such a claim? How do you go about defending yourself? Read on for more information.
Defending PLI claims
The first thing you need to do is to forward the letter of claim to your insurance broker, together with any notes pertaining to the incident that were made at the time. This should be done within 21 days of receipt of the letter of claim, giving your insurer adequate time to prepare a robust defence.
Under no circumstances should you contact the claimant or their solicitor direct. Any correspondence that you receive regarding the incident or claim should be forwarded directly to your broker for onward transmission to your insurance company. This ensures that your broker and insurer will both be in possession of all the facts pertaining to the claim.
While your insurer is beginning the defence of the claim, you should find the accident report form relating to the incident. It's important that you always have a senior member of staff complete accident reports to ensure that the circumstances of the incident are recorded accurately. You'll also need to provide details of any witnesses to the accident.
If you have CCTV footage of what happened, that should be forwarded to your broker with all the other evidence that you have obtained.
What next?
Your insurance broker will liaise directly with your insurer to keep you updated on the progress of the claim. Usually, it won't be necessary for you to attend court to defend your claim; everything will be dealt with by your insurer and the other party's solicitors.
If the claim is unsuccessfully defended, your insurer will make payment to the claimant, including covering any legal fees they have incurred. Although this won't impact directly on your personal or company finances, you will probably find that your insurance premiums have increased when the renewal date comes around.
In conclusion
If you find yourself on the wrong end of a public liability claim against your business, provide all the evidence that you have of the event to your insurance broker as soon as you receive the letter of claim. Your broker will act as liaison between you and your insurer to keep you up to speed with the claim and its ultimate outcome.
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