public liability insurance on private land?

CamperMan

Hi,

do I need public liability insurance on private land?

Thanks

MagicSean

CamperMan wrote: »

Hi,

do I need public liability insurance on private land?

Thanks

Like your back garden? Or something bigger.

CamperMan

a 0.75 acre plot, fenced off, gated and not in use

MagicSean

CamperMan wrote: »

a 0.75 acre plot, fenced off, gated and not in use

Like a field? Whats on the plot?

CamperMan

an old stone shed...

I know we will get public liabilty insurance on the plot once we start building but do we need it as it currently stands... not in use

CamperMan

Weatherglaze wrote: »

It depends what your going to do on these private lands.....are you going to invite the public to a show or something.
When we host shows like home improvement weatherglaze window shows ,yes we do have to have public liability insurance.

If you do not have the need for the public to enter your land, then no insurance. Put up a sign that the lands are private, and your entering at your own risk. :eek:

Thanks,

will do

Our man in Havana

A sign like that will not protect you from claims for injury or death.

CamperMan

Bond-007 wrote: »

A sign like that will not protect you from claims for injury or death.

so, if a person goes onto our land without permission (land is fully fenced off and gated (locked)), hurts themselves, they could claim?

Our man in Havana

Yes they could.

PCPhoto

similar to the way that a person can come into your home ....in an attempt to rob you .... slip and hurt themselves (by accidentally hitting your golf clubs as you swing at them) ...and sue you !!! (such a wonderful world we live in.... who says its only the rich get all the breaks !!!)

Cunsiderthis

PCPhoto wrote: »

similar to the way that a person can come into your home ....in an attempt to rob you .... slip and hurt themselves (by accidentally hitting your golf clubs as you swing at them) ...and sue you !!! (such a wonderful world we live in.... who says its only the rich get all the breaks !!!)

It is a wonderful world. Mind you the opposite, where the law prevents anyone from suing because they are trespassing, either by accident or by design, might be an equally wonderful world.

The fact that the law allows an individual to sue another individual, or company, doesn't mean the circumstances of how they came to be where they were when they suffered the damage, for which they are suing, will not be taken into account.

patrice123

I have a field in England that sounds similar to yours. Most of the comments are correct in that regardless of what you do to deter the public whether it be signs, fencing, etc. it doesn't matter.

If they come onto your land and injure themselves, they can claim against you as the land owner. I thought the same as you originally but then after looking into the laws on this, decided that taking out a land insurance policy was the best thing to do, if nothing else than for peace of mind. I had to get it from an insurer in the UK.

The only company that seems to do such cover is a company called Ashburnham Insurance. I don't know if they will cover here but worth a try maybe?

slimjimmc

Bond-007 wrote: »

Yes they could.

Would they have to show you intentionally put a tresspasser at risk?

NUTLEY BOY

The "occupier" of land owes a duty of care to those who come on to it. It is usually the effective occupier of property who carries the principal duty of care / liability as distinct from the owner.

Occupiers do owe a duty of care even to trespassers. An English case of British Railways Board -v- Herrington 1972 established the concept of acting with "due regard to humane consideration" as far as trespassers are concerned.

The fact that a duty of care is owed to trespassers does not automatically mean that there is a liability to trespassers if there is an accident.

The fact that a person can make a claim does not mean that they will win their case. The issue of fault - breach of legal duty by the occupier - must be proven by the plaintiff.

Setting a trap for a trespasser will certainly destroy any chance of defending a claim. The plaintiff carries the burden of proving the existence of a trap. The standard of proof required is that of the balance of probabilities.

I would go as far as saying that a plaintiff who can show good evidence of the creation of a trap might well invoke the evidentiary rule of res ipsa loquitor which will then shift the onus to the occupier to prove that it was not a trap.

Remember that if a trap is deliberately set you might be in trouble with the liability insurance underwriters. They will not cover deliberate acts, only accidental ones.

siralan

I live just off a main road and there is a private avenue to our front gate, there is also a second house on the avenue and access to a field which is owned by a farmer although he does not use it. We have been paying around €550 per year insurance on the avenue for past 5 years between us. The avenue is owned by a management company which is made up of myself, the farmer and my next door neighbour. The chances of an accident are minimal however you never know. We were wondering if we put up a sign at end of avenue that it is a private lane or that trespassers enter at own risk would it give us any protection? It is owned by a ltd company which should mean we can not be sued by an opportunist or even if there was a genuine accident. Obviously our big fear is that the wrong person could sue us personally??

Has anyone had a similar situation to this ??

patrice123

I'm by no means a legal expert but I would guess a sign would make no difference whatsoever.

I would imagine the only way to get out of anything would be to sit at the end of the road getting people to sign disclaimers before entering your private land!!!

siralan

I suppose I would just hope that if the worst case scenario did happen then the person suing would sue the management company which is a limited company that it wouldnt mean I loose the roof from over my head. Just sick of paying mortgages, tax, insurance, charges, vat and never getting anything back in return !