# Sticky  A guide to liability Insurance from Coversure



## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Hopefully this thread will explain Public Liability Insurance in a little more detail, the different types of cover available and finally our "exclusive" scheme which we have developed following our involvement and knowledge of the valeting/detailing industry over the last few years. Apologies if I've used any insurance jargon which people don't understand, but please ask if there is anything that requires further explanation.

*An Overview of Public Liability Insurance*

Whilst this cover is not compulsory, it should be considered as a necessity by anyone running their own business. Unfortunately we are living in a litigious society where people are aware of their rights to claim. Years ago, if someone tripped over your hosepipe they would have got up, brushed themselves down and walked off thinking how silly they were for not looking where they were going. It's a different story these days and now, with the ease of access to personal injury solicitors, people will be seeking financial compensation for their injuries.

Public Liability Insurance provides protection for you and your business and will indemnify you up £1,000,000 (or higher if required) against damage or injury to a Third Party (ie another person) as a result of your negligence for which you are legally liable.

Generally these policies are written on "Tradesman" policies which cater for tradesmen who operate without premises (bricklayers, painters & decorators, carpenters etc) and the premium is based on the number of persons ("per capita"). Some Insurers have an extensive acceptable "trade" range under these policies and include the business description "Car Valeters". However, these policies do have their limitations. You have to bear in mind they are generic policies for a wide range of trades and the policy is then endorsed with specific trade exclusions (e.g. depth limits for groundworkers, exclusion of tree felling for landscape gardeners etc). With regard to valeters, they are usually noted as "Car Valeters" and following enquiries with insurers, this pretty much restricts work to cars only, or at best cars & vans Up to 1000kg GVW.

Tradesman policies do not provide any "Service Indemnity" (more about this later) and specifically exclude any damage to items worked upon, this means that the policy will not cover any damage to the car you are cleaning/detailing. In the past I have contacted the Insurers we deal with to clarify if this was just as a result of the act of cleaning, but they have all confirmed this is a full exclusion and any damage to the vehicle, regardless of cause, is excluded. So you have to bear in mind that whether you damage the car either by cleaning it, dropping something on it, or any other cause, you will have pay for the damage yourself.

It is my opinion that, due to the limitations of the cover, these policies are not general suitable for valeters and detailers, so with this in mind we have worked with Insurers over the last few years to provide a wider cover and now have a new scheme available.

*OUR EXCLUSIVE VALETING & DETAILING SCHEME*

As mentioned, we have negotiate a scheme specifically tailored for the valeting & detailing industry, with wide definitions and, in similar vain to many valeting/detailing packages, a simplified system of selecting the level of protection required, based on suitability and affordability.

Anyone that has phoned around for Liability insurance has probably drawn a blank when they mention the word "detailing", sometimes even "valeting". Mention "paint correction" and there will be images of spray booths being drawn up at the other end of the telephone line! There is no confusion with our policy, I have written a business definition which the Insurers have fully agreed and will be noted on the policy schedule so both you and your customers can rest assured that you are insured for the activities you are carrying out. The business definition is as follows:

_"Motor Vehicle Valeting/Detailing - internal & external (including engine bay) cleaning, including pressure washing & steam cleaning, deodorising, paint decontamination, paint touch up by hand (stone chips & scratches), paint polishing/enhancement/correction
(swirl, scratch & defect removal by hand and/or by machine), internal & external protection (protectants, sealants, waxes etc)."_

Under our scheme, there are four levels of cover available, from Bronze offering essential basic protection to Platinum offering an all inclusive extensive cover.

The covers are summarised as follows -

*Bronze*

•	Business Description of Vehicle Valeting and Detailing (as defined above)
•	Per Capita Rated (ie rated on the number of persons working in the business)
•	Available to new ventures with no previous experience provided there has been at least 1 year's serious hobby valeting/detailing
•	Public Liability £1m, £2m or £5m 
•	Products Liability £1m, £2m or £5m
•	Optional Employers Liability £10m (including a temporary employees extension)
•	No motor vehicle type restrictions, cover can include work on cars, vans, minibuses, HGVs, Motorhomes, tractors, motorcycles etc.
•	Includes cover for valeting/detailing trailers, static caravans, touring caravans etc.
•	Option to include premises based risk or working from home in addition to mobile work 
•	£250 excess in respect of Third Party Property Damage
•	Excluding damage to items worked upon.
•	Excludes the use of Heat (however, hot air guns for the removal of vinyl graphics etc acceptable at normal terms) 
•	Excludes the movement of motor vehicles
•	Excludes Boats, although these may be considered on referral - subject to full details and in dry dock only.
•	Exclude aircraft/airports

*Silver*

As Bronze, but to include:

•	Service Indemnity £1m, £2m or £5m
•	Excluding damage to items worked upon.

*Gold*

As Silver, but to include:

•	Damage to items whilst being worked upon at an indemnity of £50k, subject to an excess of £500
•	Includes Public Liability for shows, exhibitions etc

*Platinum*

As Gold, but to include:

•	£2m indemnity under Public Liability, Products Liability & Service Indemnity (option to increase to £5m)
•	Damage to items worked upon increased to £100k indemnity, again subject to an excess of £500
•	Includes Products Liability in respect of Online Retailing (excluding any goods for export or use in the United States or Canada)
•	Includes the activity of Detailing Tuition (excluding Profession risks - ie any injury, loss or damage as a result of the advice given)

Below is brief description of Public Liability, Products Liability, Service Indemnity etc to help you understand the difference in cover and help in choosing what is best for your business -

*Public Liability* - this section of the policy offers essential basic protection for you and your business and will indemnify you up £1,000,000 (or higher if required, ie £2m, £5m etc) against claims for damage or injury from a Third Party (ie another person) or their property as a result of your negligence for which you are legally liable, such as someone tripping over your hosepipe and breaking their arm. There is no excess in respect of injury, but an excess of £250 applies in respect of damage to third party property.

*Products Liability* - this indemnifies you against any claims made again you in respect of injury or damage as a result of products you have sold or supplied. As the supplier/retailer of a product, your customer will direct any claim against you, however, the Insurers will generally seek recourse from the manufacturer or retailer/wholesaler that supplied the product to you. This cover is for incidental sales in connection with your business such as selling a shampoo or other item to a customer which causes them harm. However, our Platinum option also extends to include the retail online (internet) product sales of valeting/detailing/car care products (excluding any goods for export or use in the United States or Canada).

*Service Indemnity* - this indemnifies the policyholder against the consequential injury, loss or damage as a result of the servicing or upkeep of a vehicle. An example of this would be not tightening up wheel nuts properly after a "wheels off" detail, where a customer drives off, the wheel falls off, car crashes etc. and the policyholder's legal liability in respect of any resultant damage or injury will be indemnified. Another example would be overspill of tyre shine on brake discs causing the brakes to fail. Our Silver, Gold and Platinum options include this cover.

*Employers Liability* - if you employ anyone, even part time or casual, whether you pay them or not, it is a statutory legal requirement that you have Employers Liability in force. This is explained further here - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdf

Employers Liability indemnifies the policyholder against any injury or disease suffered by their employees during their course of employment. Again the employer has to be legally liable for the injury or disease, but it is often the case that courts rule in favour of injured party where employees are concerned. Obviously you have a duty under Health and Safety requirements to provide adequate training, protective gear etc to provide a safe working environment for your employees, but a chemical splash to the eye could result in a claim and it will most likely be successful due the employer failing to supply and insist on the wearing of the appropriate protective clothing/goggles. There could be back injuries due to lack of training on lifting procedures, injuries due to improper use of machinery as a result of insufficient training, the list goes on! This is available as an add on to all cover options.

*Damage to Items Worked Upon* - all liability policies carry a specific exclusion with regard to defective workmanship, therefore they will not cover damage to a vehicle whilst you are working upon it, such as buffer hop with a polisher and putting a load of dents in a bonnet or burning through paint. However, our Gold & Platinum covers provide an extension which will cover any accidental loss or damage to any customer's vehicle in the Insured's custody or control whilst being worked upon up to an indemnity limit of either £50,000 or £100,000. An excess of £500 applies to claims. Selecting this cover provides and added peace of mind should something go wrong and also a reassurance to your customer that you have cover in place should you damage their vehicle.

Our previous scheme also covered theft under the damage to items worked upon extension, but this is something that normally should be covered under a Motor Trade Road Risks policy. Without going into the technical details, this meant that we were previously unable to offer cover for damage to items worked upon for any unit or home based risks. Whilst our new scheme does not include theft cover, it does mean that we are now able to offer the Damage to Items Worked Upon extension whether mobile, working from home or working from a unit.  However, if working from home or a unit, we would also strongly recommend a Motor Trade Road Risks policy which not only provides cover the movement of customer's vehicles, but can be extended to include cover for theft of customer's vehicles or damage (whilst not being worked upon) while the vehicles are in your care and you are legal responsible for them.

We've kept the premiums as competitive as possible, with Bronze still starting from well under £100 and the higher end covers actually being considerably cheaper than our previous scheme! At renewal of the policy, our existing customers will be offered cover under our new scheme with the option of upgrading to higher level of cover if required.

Please feel free to ring to either me, Syd or Jayne if you are interested in taking out a policy and require any further information or a quotation. Our contact details can be found here - www.valeters-insurance.co.uk/contactus.htm

I have tried to encompass as much as I can within the four cover options that hopefully will suit most people. However, we do have flexibility with the underwriters and if you feel that there is something else you need in addition to options on offer, have a chat with us and we try our best to accommodate your needs.

*UPDATE: OUR NEW WEBSITE IS NOW LIVE www.valeters-insurance.co.uk PLEASE FEEL FREE TO HAVE A LOOK AROUND AND GET IN CONTACT WITH US IF YOU WOULD LIKE A CHAT AND A QUOTE.*


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