Brokers urged to check public liability insurance policies

A good practice guide produced by the professional body explored the legionella disease risk faced by broker’s corporate clients as the UK gradually returned to work after the initial lockdown period.

Many places of work are at risk of an infected water supply due to being left vacant during lockdown but the guide explains the way standard public liability policies are currently worded means most, if not all outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease, will fall within an exclusion clause and therefore not be covered.  

In order to extend the cover for insureds, the guide explains how brokers will need to make a specific application to insurers requesting additional wording to the policy giving supplementary cover against the disease.

Stuart Stead, board member of the Society of Insurance Broking, said: “Many business owners, especially in the SME arena, will be unaware that not all public liability insurance policies provide cover for Legionnaires’ disease. As we know, if an outbreak is confirmed then it could cause not only a financial penalty but potentially a very severe reputational effect on top of that, from which many businesses could struggle to recover.

“This guide sets out how brokers can better assist their clients in relation to explaining this insurable threat, and thereby financially mitigating the risk should the worst case occur.”

The full guide can be found here: https://www.cii.co.uk/media/10124713/legionella-coverage-in-uk-public-liability-market.pdf