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Public Liability Insurance

Protect your business from unexpected damage, injury and legal costs

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Choose the right level of cover for your business

RACV Business Insurance has a public and product liability option that defends you from potentially costly personal injury and property damage claims. 

Key inclusion

You can choose from different levels of cover, so you don’t pay for insurance you don’t need.

What's covered

Legal costs

Public liability covers the legal costs earned in the defence or settlement of a liability claim.

Damage to someone else's property

Covers the costs of physical loss, destruction, or damage to someone else’s property because of your business operation.

Injury to someone else

Covers the costs of injuries to someone else, as well as first aid expenses for injuries caused by your business operations.

Loss or damage of goods in your care

For example, if you’re looking after a client’s bag and it is accidentally lost or stolen.

Staff negligence

Like if your employee doesn't clean up a spill in your shop and a customer falls and injures themselves.

This is a summary only – terms, conditions and policy limits apply. For the full details of what is and is not covered you can read the RACV Business Insurance Policy.

Additional cover to tailor your package

Commercial motor vehicles

Covers the motor vehicles you use to operate your business, including vans, utes and trailers.

Computer and electronic equipment

Covers breakdown of office equipment such as computers, printers, fax machines and phone equipment.

Theft and money

Covers you if a person breaks into your business premises (or rental property) and steals your stock, contents, equipment, or money.

Machinery

Cover for your specified business machinery if it breaks down.

Tax investigation

Covers the cost of professional fees resulting from an audit or investigation which relates to you paying a tax.

Glass

Covers breakage to shop front windows, glass shelving, sign writing and display cabinets.

Employee dishonesty

Cover for loss of money or goods caused by employee fraud or dishonesty.

Business interruption

Covers your business expenses if your gross income is interrupted by damage caused by an incident we cover.

We'll make it quick and easy

Tailored to your business

Optional covers tailored to your business, so you don’t pay for insurance you don’t need.

We'll save you time

Get a quote and cover online or by phone. We’ll reduce unnecessary paperwork and save you time.

Trusted by thousands

Protecting thousands of Victorian businesses like yours.

Frequently asked questions

RACV Business Insurance can help to protect your business, your customers and your income from accident, injury, theft, or financial loss due to interruption.

No one knows your business needs like you, which is why Public and Products Liability is automatically included. Then you can choose from additional covers you might need to tailor the package to your business.

RACV Business Insurance caters to the needs of small businesses and sole traders. This covers operations with less than 20 employees and less than $5 million turnover per year.

Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against legal claims resulting from injuries to another person or damage to their property for covered events. If you work with clients or customers in public spaces, visit spaces owned or controlled by others, have visitors to your premises, or manufacture products, this cover could help cover unexpected costs when accidents happen.

Not all businesses are the same. That’s why the level of public liability insurance you need is unique to:

  • the size of your business i.e. employees, income
  • your risk appetite
  • how much it would cost to fix the problem if a mistake is made.

You can cover your business for up to $20 million for public liability each year. We’ll ask you some questions to help you determine what level of cover is best to protect your business.

If a client of yours claims that you’ve made a mistake that caused them financial loss, the costs required to defend your business can be significant.

RACV Professional Indemnity Insurance can cover you for some unexpected costs like damages, claims investigations, public relations consultants and more.

We thank our business customers for their understanding and patience during the general insurance industry Business Interruption test case process. The test cases were an important step in clarifying how business interruption policy wordings were to be interpreted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The courts have now finalised the test case process and the outcomes can now be applied in determining COVID-19 pandemic business interruption claims.

There have been two test cases in relation to business interruption cover and COVID-19 impacts that now have a final outcome. The outcome of these test cases may impact your entitlement to cover under a business interruption policy. 

  • The first test case determined that certain policy exclusions that referred to a disease declared to be a quarantinable disease under the Quarantine Act 1908 (Cth) could not be applied to claims relating to COVID-19.
  • The second test case determined various issues relevant to business interruption cover, providing clarity on to the interpretation of business interruption policy wordings. The court determined that in all but one case the policyholders were not entitled to cover under their policies. In the remaining case, the court found that the policyholder may be entitled to cover under the particular terms of their policy. As a result, certain policyholders may be entitled to cover depending on the particular terms of their policy and the facts and circumstances of their claim.
  • In the second test case, the court also determined that a disease exclusion clause that referred to a disease declared to be a ‘listed human disease’ under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth) applies to exclude cover for COVID-19.

Further information in relation to the test cases is available on the Insurance Council of Australia’s website.

Your entitlement to cover will depend on the particular terms of your policy wording and the individual facts and circumstances of any loss you may have suffered.

If your business has been affected by COVID-19 and you have business interruption cover, you can talk to us about making a claim on 13 19 03 or contact your broker.

If you have already lodged a claim under your business interruption policy for COVID-19 impacts we will contact you separately in relation to this claim.

Tips and advice for your business

The information provided is general advice only. Before making any decisions please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies, visit racv.com.au. As a referrer, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product(s) issued by Insurance Australia Ltd, ABN 11 000 016 722, AFS Licence No. 227681.