"That's not possible", anyone reading about a spectacular product recall might think. But it’s usually quite common mistakes that cause companies the biggest headaches. Swiss insurers paid out 652 million francs in 2018 for commercial liability losses.
Most of these claims falls into the category of "just one of those things". For instance, when the cleaning lady leaves the master key to an office building on the subway. Someone was absent-minded for a moment, miscalculated, failed to adjust a machine correctly or reached into the wrong compartment. And who can argue that they never do things like that?
The most common event of a loss is property damage due to repair work on the customer's premises. Previous industry experience shows that the follow-up costs of a human error are in second place. A typical case: a craftsman causes a fire in a room during installation work. Amazing, but true: classic production errors only come in third place. In fourth place among the most frequent events of a loss is injury to customers. In fifth place is damage caused during loading and unloading. Also frequent, but only insurable with additional coverage, are "Losses to property worked upon" such as the watchmaker who breaks a pendulum while cleaning the antique clock.
Commercial liability insurance is worthwhile for every company – so that the stress with business partners or customers is not exacerbated by unforeseeable financial consequences. The insurance not only pays justified claims, but also defends against unjustified claims. A diner at a restaurant may get stomach problems one hour after eating tiramisu. But the reason was not the dessert. It was his new medication.
A commercial liability insurance offers you comprehensive protection at an affordable price. Zurich's offers are modular in structure and thus enable a bespoke insurance solution thanks to industry-specific modules. Find out which insurance makes sense for your company.
