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What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?
Public liability insurance covers you if your business causes injury to someone or damages their property. It's one of the most common covers New Zealand businesses carry - here's exactly what it does and doesn't cover.
What it covers
Public liability responds when your business activities cause bodily injury to a third party, or accidental damage to property that isn't yours. It covers the compensation you're liable for, plus the legal costs of defending the claim.
Typical examples: a tradesperson damages a client's home, a customer trips over equipment and is injured, or work on one property causes damage next door. Because ACC handles personal injury in New Zealand, the bodily-injury element works differently here than overseas - but property damage and associated claims are very real exposures.
What it doesn't cover
Public liability doesn't cover your own property or employees, faulty workmanship on the item you were working on, professional advice (that's professional indemnity), or the cost to redo your own work. It's third-party cover - it's about the harm your work causes others.
Who needs it
Any business whose people, work or premises interact with the public or with clients' property - tradies, contractors, retailers, hospitality, and most service businesses. Clients, landlords and principals often require it before you can work for them, at a set limit such as $1m, $2m or $5m.