What Is Public and Products Liability Insurance?

Public liability insurance is designed to respond when a business is held legally liable for injury to a third party, or for damage to someone else’s property. Products liability extends similar cover to injury or damage allegedly caused by goods a business manufactures, sells, supplies, installs or repairs. The two are usually arranged together under a single policy.

Annex Risk Advisory is a Perth commercial insurance brokerage. As a public liability insurance broker, we help businesses understand their third-party exposures, review the limits and wordings they currently hold, and explore options from a range of insurance markets.

What a policy responds to varies between insurers. Limits, excesses, exclusions and the way covered activities are defined all differ, and cover for particular work, products, materials or locations may be limited or excluded entirely. For businesses working on client sites, operating under contract, or supplying goods that others rely on, the wording can matter as much as the limit.

Reviewing both together, against how the business actually operates, is where broker involvement tends to be most useful.

Business owner reviewing an insurance policy schedule and wording at a desk

Who May Need Public Liability Cover

Public liability exposure exists wherever a business interacts with people or property it does not own. That includes trades and contractors working on client sites, construction and infrastructure businesses, civil contractors operating near underground services, manufacturers and wholesalers, retailers and hospitality operators, labour hire providers, and professional firms that host clients or visit their premises.

Products liability is particularly relevant to businesses that manufacture, import, wholesale, distribute or install goods. Exposure can continue after a product has left the business’s control, and in some cases long after the sale.

Public liability is not generally required by legislation in the way workers compensation is. It is, however, commonly required under head contracts, subcontract agreements, tender conditions, commercial leases and some occupational licensing requirements. These often specify a minimum limit, frequently $5 million, $10 million or $20 million depending on the work and the principal involved, and may require particular parties to be noted on the policy.

Where a contract sets those requirements, the policy needs to be read against the agreement rather than assumed to comply.

Civil contractors working beside an open trench on a Perth worksite

How Annex Works as a Public Liability Insurance Broker

Annex takes a risk-first approach. Before approaching any insurer, we work to understand how the business operates, what it produces or delivers, where it works, who it works for, and what its contracts require. That analysis shapes the brief that goes to market, rather than the other way around.

From there we assist with insurance program design and placement, comparing options across a range of insurance markets and looking at wordings, limits, excesses and exclusions alongside premium. We can also review the insurance clauses in commercial agreements to consider whether existing cover aligns with those obligations.

If a claim arises, claims management and advocacy is part of the service. We assist with lodgement, documentation and insurer communication, and advocate for assessment under the terms of the policy.

Both directors are active practitioners, so clients deal directly with senior brokers rather than a rotating account team. Cover is subject to insurer approval, policy terms, conditions and exclusions.

Meeting room in the Annex Risk Advisory office in Perth

Speak With a Perth Commercial Insurance Broker

Third-party injury

A customer, visitor or member of the public is injured on your premises or at a site where your business is working, and your business is alleged to be legally liable.

Property damage

Work carried out by your business is alleged to have damaged a client’s property or a neighbouring property, including damage to underground services on civil and excavation sites.

Products supplied

Goods your business manufactures, imports, sells or installs are alleged to have caused injury or damage after they have left your control, sometimes well after the sale.

Legal defence costs

The cost of defending an allegation can be significant even where liability is never established. Whether and how these costs are covered depends on the policy wording and the limit.

Contract requirements

Head contracts, subcontracts, leases and tenders often specify minimum limits and require particular parties to be noted. Cover may need to be reviewed against those obligations before signing.

Completed work

Claims can arise after a job is finished. How a policy responds depends on its terms and the period of cover in place when the claim is made or the incident occurred.

Perth city skyline over the Swan River at dusk
Annex Risk Advisory broker discussing insurance cover with a client

Stay ahead of risk.

Start protecting what you’ve built with our risk management advisory services.

At Annex Risk Advisory, we partner with you to monitor changes in your business, adapt strategies as needed, and keep you informed. Our goal is simple: to safeguard your business so you can focus on smooth operations.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about business insurance, cover considerations and how a broker can help. If your situation isn’t covered here, speak with our team. Any information provided is general in nature and cover is subject to insurer approval, policy terms, conditions and exclusions.

For most businesses it is not required by legislation in the way workers compensation is. It is commonly required contractually, through head contracts, subcontract agreements, tender conditions and commercial leases, and some occupational licensing conditions also require it. Requirements vary by industry and by state, so it is worth confirming what applies to your business.

Public liability relates to injury or property damage arising from your business activities, premises or work. Products liability relates to injury or damage allegedly caused by goods your business supplies. They are usually arranged together under one policy, though insurers may apply the limit differently between the two, particularly in the aggregate.

Limits of $5 million, $10 million and $20 million are common in the Australian market. What is appropriate depends on the work performed, the sites accessed, the products supplied, the contracts in place and what principals or landlords require. A broker can help you consider the exposures and the options available.

Premiums are generally influenced by industry and activities, turnover, the limit selected, claims history, use of subcontractors, the locations worked in and the products supplied. Higher-hazard work usually attracts higher premiums. Pricing and wording vary between insurers, so comparing what a policy actually responds to matters alongside cost.

Generally no. Injuries to workers are usually dealt with under workers compensation rather than public liability, and in Western Australia workers compensation is a separate statutory requirement. Public liability is concerned with third parties. Businesses commonly hold both, and the two are best reviewed together.

Yes. Insurers issue certificates of currency confirming key details of the policy, and these are often requested by principals, clients and landlords. Annex can arrange certificates and review whether the cover described actually aligns with what the contract requires, which is not always the case.