Portable Appliance Testing?

In article , Roland Perry scribeth thus

You would hope prolly expect that any large venue would have insurance cover to well, cover adverse events happening. Surely they don't depend an any performer turning up and relying on their insurance to cover them for that amount or has the world indeed gone more liability mad in recent times;!...

No. I was thinking early '70's, but could be later than that.

On Sun, 03 Jun 2012 20:06:07 +0100, tony sayer wrote= :

No they expect you to insure against you doing something incompetent.

Next they'll be asking that every band has someone who can prove that they have formal qualifications to wire-up and operate all the electrical/electronic equipment. Why not? After all, being covered by insurance isn't really "compensation" for having your venue burnt down by someone incorrectly operating a piece of equipment that was PAT tested only the week before.

Michael

It isn't cheap because it covers very little, it's cheap because it's covering something for which the risk is extremely low. The vast majority of people and organisations who have public liability insurance will never need to claim against it at all. The reason they have it is because the consequences of such a claim would be catastrophic without it.

Events which would require you to compensate a member of the public for injury or death caused by your actions are very, very unusual. But, on the rare occasions when they do happen, the amount of compensation payable can run into the millions. Unless you are very rich, that will bankrupt you. And, if it does bankrupt you, that means that the victim of your error won't get the compensation ordered by the court. Neither of those is an appealing prospect.

That's why any sensible trader or entertainer will have public liability insurance, for their own protection in case the worst happens, and why many organisations require their contractors to have it, as costs incurred by an uninsured contractor may fall onto them.

Mark

In message , at

You've perhaps inadvertently put your finger on the issue. This sort of insurance covers the public at the venue, not the venue itself.

So if you burn it down, the only claim it'll pay will be from attendees who failed to flee quickly enough. Rebuilding the hotel afterwards is SEP.

Yes. But that's why it's so cheap. If it had to pay for things that are normally covered by the venue's insurance, it would be considerably more (and perhaps prohibitively) expensive.

Mark

I'm not sure what people think they're covering. As far as I can see, it's pretty obvious that they're covering you for exactly what it says on the tin: Public liability. Nothing more, nothing less.

Mark

In message , at

Some people seem to think the venue itself is part of "the public".

Which policies fo you have in mind? During the brief period when I was a "sole trader" and required to have public liability insurance (PLI) it covered me for just that - ie burning down a customer's offices - among other things. It was cheap as I was not wielding anything more fire-raising than a laptop.

Looking at it another way, are you saying that if electricians were negligent while installing new circuits in a building which leads to the building burning down then their PLI won't cover them?

In message , at 20:50:41 on Tue, 5 Jun 2012, Robin remarked:

That's Professional Indemnity, not Public Liability.

No, Professional Indemnity is when you give advice and it turns out to be wrong. Public Liability is if you are a tradesman/worker, and ruin a carpet/drop a hammer on an antique vase, or cause a flood downstairs after drilling into a pipe or other such harm, as well as harming people. And, despite your doubts, they do cover you if you burn an house down (so long as you worked to their requirements), and will pay if you ruin a carpet.

Alan.

In message , at 16:11:00 on Wed, 6 Jun 2012, A.Lee remarked:

Given the rates people have quoted (premiums of about 1:10,000 of the cover) I don't think PL Insurance is in any sense a guarantee on the work done by ham-fisted contractors. The numbers simply don't work.

In particular, I'm led to believe that PL insurance doesn't cover anyone you have a contractual relationship with, so burning down the house of someone who asked you to do a job for them doesn't count.

"Here are some examples of when you will typically be able to claim on your policy:

1. You are a sole trader IT support engineer. While visiting a customer site, you knock a cup of tea down the back of a server, knocking out the client's network and damaging the hardware beyond repair."

That's because there are so few claims, that the premums are kept low. My excess is £500 iirc, any damage I cause is likely to be less than £500 - I've chipped a kitchen sink before, and broken a toilet pan, both were less than £500, so I just bought new ones myself, which any respectable tradesman would do, mainly to save the trouble for the customer, and my insurance wouldnt cover it anyway.

Yes it does. If you are working for someone, you are covered for whatever is included in your policy. I cannot use any heat inside premises - if I burn an house down through using a gas torch inside, then i will have to pay myself, if however I advertently drill through a gas pipe, and an explosion ensues, then they will pay out, so long as I was acting diligently while working.

In message , at 17:41:02 on Wed, 6 Jun

nb. Not "your PL policy".

It makes you wonder why they also offer "tradesman insurance", if things like that really are covered. And when you ask for a quote, the PL cover appears to be only for "Injury to visitors".

"You make a mistake" is Professional Indemnity.

In message , at 17:56:08 on Wed, 6 Jun 2012, A.Lee remarked:

Which it seems doesn't (by your own admission) include every form of negligence such as:

Er, the entire page is about PL insurance.

Indeed, to expand the quote, since you clearly didn't follow the link:

"Public liability insurance claims

Here are some examples of when you will typically be able to claim on your policy:

1. You are a sole trader IT support engineer. While visiting a customer site, you knock a cup of tea down the back of a server, knocking out the s network and damaging the hardware beyond repair.
2. You own a carpet showroom. One of your customers comes in to order some stock, but trips over a loose piece of carpet you have on display. Your policy will cover the s claim for injuries sustained.
3. You are an electrician. You re-wire a flat as part of a refurbishment, but connect the fuse box incorrectly. As a result, one of the circuits burns out, and the owner makes a claim against you for the damage caused.customerclient"