What is a public liability insurance certificate?

Putting the question into context

The policy needs to match the work as it is really done. A tidy trade name on its own does not tell an insurer enough.

Cover applies within the stated dates, activities, limits and conditions. That sounds plain, but it is where many misunderstandings begin.

Three parts of the work deserve a closer look: the certificate has expired before a job starts; the insured activity is too narrow for the contract; and the client asks for a higher limit than you bought. Use the list to find the parts of the work that need a clear answer in the quotation and policy.

Before opening a quotation form, find the information behind these answers: legal name and trading name; start and end dates; and limit of indemnity and insurer details. A brief written clarification is easier to rely on than a half-remembered conversation.

If a customer requested the insurance, compare the certificate with the contract before sending it. Dates and limits should agree. If the answer is not clear, ask before the first job relies on the cover.

Where the exposure comes from

The risk becomes clearer when it is broken into real events:

• The certificate has expired before a job starts
• The insured activity is too narrow for the contract
• The client asks for a higher limit than you bought

Do not assume that a familiar accident is automatically insured. Conditions and exclusions still apply.

Use “the client asks for a higher limit than you bought” as a practical example. Describe the people, property and work involved, just as you would if explaining the job to somebody outside the trade.

Then consider “the certificate has expired before a job starts”. If it is a regular possibility, it should be recognisable from the business description and quotation answers.

Stay with work the business genuinely carries out. The aim is an accurate description, not a list of unlikely disasters.

Have these answers ready

Use actual business records where you can. The provider is likely to need:

• Legal name and trading name
• Start and end dates
• Limit of indemnity and insurer details

Work through “legal name and trading name”, “start and end dates” and “limit of indemnity and insurer details” using the business records already to hand. The aim is a fair description of the work, not a polished answer that leaves out inconvenient details.

A customer may later read only the certificate. You should still keep the fuller schedule and endorsements for your own records.

Two reminders from this page are “a certificate does not list every exclusion” and “send current documents through a secure route”; keep them beside the documents when you check the quotation. If the policy takes a different approach to “legal name and trading name”, ask about it before the cover is needed and retain any written reply.

Keep the quotation record with the policy. If the wording describes a narrower business, ask why.

Do not skip the endorsements

• A certificate does not list every exclusion
• Send current documents through a secure route
• Ask the insurer or broker to correct errors

The certificate is only a summary. Use the schedule, wording and endorsements for the fuller picture.

Before you submit the quote

Read a recent contract and compare its insurance clause with the limit and business description you plan to buy.

A short written record can save a long disagreement about what was said when the cover was arranged.

Do not discard the earlier policy when a new one begins. A claim can arrive well after the work was completed, so the documents in force at the time may still be needed.

Do not let the following point get buried: ask the insurer or broker to correct errors; check how this affects the jobs you accept and ask for clarification if the policy takes a different approach.