Public Liability Insurance

Redwood Insurance Brokers makes public liability insurance clear, practical, and suited to how your business actually operates. We help you choose sensible limits, understand what is covered and what is excluded in plain English, and make sure the policy matches your contracts, site requirements, and real-world risks. If something goes wrong, we back you and help drive the claim through.

Why public liability insurance matters

If someone alleges your business caused injury or property damage, you can face legal costs, repair costs, and a lot of time spent managing the problem, even if you believe you did nothing wrong.

Public liability insurance is designed to help protect your business from claims made by third parties for accidental injury or accidental property damage arising from your operations, subject to policy terms and exclusions. Our job is to set it up properly so it holds up under real-world pressure.

What we help with:

We can help you organise:

  • Public liability cover and sensible limit selection

  • Product liability, where relevant, including what happens after you supply or sell a product

  • Contract requirements for landlords, councils, main contractors, and client agreements

  • Event or one-off activities where relevant

  • Territory and jurisdiction, such as NZ-only work or work elsewhere

  • Who is insured, including correct entity names, directors, employees, labour-only staff, and the role of subcontractors

We’ll talk through what you do, where you do it, and what your contracts expect, then recommend cover that fits.

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Public liability vs professional indemnity (different jobs)

  • Public liability: third-party injury or property damage claims, such as damage to a client’s property or someone tripping at your site.

  • Professional indemnity: financial loss from advice, design, specification, or professional services.

Plain-English takeaway: many businesses need one, and some need both. We’ll help you work out what applies.

Limits and contracts (making it contract-ready)

A lot of businesses buy liability cover because a contract requires it, but the detail matters. Contracts can specify:

  • A minimum limit, such as $5m, $10m, or $20m

  • Particular insured parties, such as principal or landlord requirements

  • Specific activities included or excluded

  • Particular wording requirements

Plain-English takeaway: we check the policy matches the contract, not just the dollar figure.

The gaps we look for (so you don’t find them mid-claim)

This is where a broker earns their keep. We check for:

  • Contractual liability traps where indemnity clauses go beyond normal liability

  • Work activity exclusions, such as work at height, hot works, or hazardous tasks

  • Products vs services confusion, including supply, installation, and advice exposure

  • Subcontractor arrangement,s including who is responsible for what, and whether subcontractors need their own cover

  • Property in your care, custody, or control which is a common exclusion area

  • Pollution and contamination, which is often limited unless specifically arranged

  • Vehicles and motor-related claims which are often not covered under public liability

  • Territory limits, such as NZ-only restrictions

  • Claims-made wording in some liability forms where notification timing matters

If there’s a risk gap, we’ll tell you straight and explain the practical options.

How Redwood does it differently

Independent

We compare options across insurers and recommend the best match for your business.

Advice, not just a quote

We explain cover in plain English so you can choose with confidence.

A sharper risk lens

We look for exclusions, conditions, and contract mismatches that cause pain later.

Claims advocacy

If you need to claim, we coordinate early, keep momentum, and push for a fair outcome.

Fast-moving

You deal with people who can make progress, not a maze of hand-offs.

Our process (simple, on purpose)

  1. Quick chat: what you do, where you work, and what contracts require

  2. Review: current cover (or start fresh)

  3. Recommendations: clear options with differences in limits, conditions, and exclusions

  4. Placement: we organise the policy and confirm the key details

  5. Ongoing support: updates, changes, renewals, and claims help

If you need to claim

Liability claims can move fast and get messy. We help you:

  • Understand what to do first and what not to admit early

  • Lodge and progress the claim

  • Provide the right information without overcomplicating it

  • Keep momentum with the insurer and claims team

  • Push for a fair outcome

Want a free second opinion on your public liability insurance?


Bring your current policy (or just tell us what you want covered). We’ll review it, explain what matters, and show you options.

Free insurance review

FAQ’s

  •  If your business interacts with the public, works on client sites, or could accidentally damage someone else’s property, public liability is usually essential.

  • It depends on your contracts, industry risk, and the size of potential losses. We’ll help you choose a sensible limit.

  • Public liability is for third-party claims. Employee injury is generally handled through ACC, but some employer exposures can still exist. We’ll explain what is relevant to you.

  • Usually not for the cost to fix your own work. Some policies may cover resulting damage depending on wording. We’ll explain the difference.

  • Not always. Some contracts require subcontractors to hold their own cover. We’ll make sure it is clear.

  • No. We help sole traders through to larger businesses. This page is focused on NZ public liability advice.