Public Liability Insurance and Statutory Liability Insurance address different types of legal exposure.

A business can require both.

What does Public Liability Insurance address? #

Public Liability Insurance generally responds to certain claims alleging that business activities caused:

• Personal injury to a third party.
• Property damage to a third party.

The policy can also cover associated legal defence costs.

What does Statutory Liability address? #

Statutory Liability Insurance focuses on regulatory action arising from alleged breaches of legislation.

Depending on the policy, this can include certain:

• Investigations.
• Prosecutions.
• Defence costs.
• Legal representation expenses.
• Legally insurable penalties.

Can the same incident involve both policies? #

Potentially.

For example, a workplace or environmental incident might lead to:

• A third-party liability claim.
• A regulator investigation.
• A statutory prosecution.

Different policy sections may respond to different aspects of the incident.

Does Public Liability cover regulatory fines? #

Do not assume so.

Public Liability is primarily designed around third-party liability.

A regulatory investigation or statutory penalty can require a different insurance section.

Does Statutory Liability cover compensation owed to an injured person? #

Not generally as its primary purpose.

The third-party liability component would ordinarily need to be considered under the relevant liability policy.

The overall insurance program should therefore be reviewed rather than treating one policy as a substitute for the other.