A client has asked for public liability insurance

The detail behind the answer

A quotation starts with the facts of the work. That includes the places you visit, the people around you and anything that could cause damage away from your own premises.

Insurance sits alongside safe working and decent records. It cannot correct an excluded activity or replace precautions required by the policy.

The day-to-day exposure is easier to judge through examples. For this subject, look at: the job includes work you do only occasionally; the client needs a higher limit; and the contract runs beyond the renewal date. Each example can involve different facts and exclusions. Mention it if it forms part of the work you undertake.

Do not rely on memory if you can check: their required limit; any special wording or interested party request; and where and when the work will happen. Read the answer back as though you were checking somebody else’s form.

Set the certificate beside the full policy documents. The certificate confirms useful basics, but it cannot show every condition. An unexplained clause is a reason to ask a question, not to guess.

What can go wrong around the work

The following examples are worth discussing if they occur in your work:

• The job includes work you do only occasionally
• The client needs a higher limit
• The contract runs beyond the renewal date

The cause, timing and people involved can all change the outcome. Keep that in mind when reading the wording.

Use “the client needs a higher limit” as a test case. Picture the actual premises and the people moving through them. Then check whether the activity, location and possible damage all fit the description you plan to submit.

Compare it with “the job includes work you do only occasionally”. One may concern injury and the other property damage, yet both could arise from the same working area.

If the policy provider would be surprised to hear about the example, the original description probably needs another look.

What to check before starting the form

A hurried estimate can cause confusion later. Check:

• Their required limit
• Any special wording or interested party request
• Where and when the work will happen

Confirm “their required limit”, “any special wording or interested party request” and “where and when the work will happen” with the customer, organiser or contractor where necessary. Written details are easier to check than a remembered telephone conversation.

If another person completes the form for the business, read the answers before cover is accepted. The responsibility for accurate information does not disappear.

Two reminders from this page are “do not send expired documents” and “never edit the certificate yourself”; keep them beside the documents when you check the quotation. If the policy takes a different approach to “their required limit”, ask about it before the cover is needed and retain any written reply.

If the provider asks for an estimate, make a fair one and note how you arrived at it.

Check the limits and restrictions

• Do not send expired documents
• Never edit the certificate yourself
• Check the contract for liabilities wider than the policy

Pay attention to instructions that use words such as “must” or “always”. Ask what happens if a condition cannot be followed on a particular job.

What to look at one last time

Confirm who works for the business and how subcontractors are used. Employment status and working arrangements can affect more than one type of insurance.

This is a paperwork check, not a safety plan. The job still needs suitable precautions and competent work.

Read the cancellation and payment terms as well. Cover can be affected if an instalment fails or a requested document is not supplied, even though the original quotation looked satisfactory.

One point is easy to lose among the paperwork: check the contract for liabilities wider than the policy; check how this affects the jobs you accept and ask for clarification if the policy takes a different approach.