What Is Public (Third-Party) Liability Insurance and What Does It Cover?
Public liability insurance — in Turkey called üçüncü şahıs mali sorumluluk (or mali mesuliyet) sigortası — covers compensation claims made against you for bodily injury and property damage that you or your employees cause to others unintentionally while doing your work. It is a shield against carelessness and negligence: the insurer takes on the compensation you are legally liable to pay, within the policy limits.
In Alanya, where tourism is intense, it is one of the most important protections for businesses that welcome many people every day, such as hotels, restaurants, cafés and shops. This guide explains who counts as a third party, what the policy does and does not cover, and which businesses need it.
- It covers compensation claims for bodily injury and property damage you unintentionally cause to others in your work.
- Customers, guests and passers-by are third parties; you, your family and your employees are not.
- Intentional damage, natural disasters and property in your care are excluded.
- It can be added to a business insurance policy as an extra or taken out as a separate policy.
Contents
1. What Is Public Liability Insurance?
This insurance covers damage the insured may cause to third parties through events beyond their control during their activities. Both individuals and businesses can take it out; its scope is set by the General Conditions for Third-Party Liability Insurance.
Why does this insurance matter?
Consider an example: you own a construction company, and a part falling from a building you are working on injures a passer-by. Without insurance, you pay the injured person’s hospital costs and the compensation they claim out of your own pocket; that amount can put a small business in difficulty. With insurance, the insurer pays the treatment costs and the compensation within the policy limits, and your business’s finances stay intact.
| Without insurance | With insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment costs | The business owner pays | The insurer pays within the limits |
| Compensation claim | The business owner pays | The insurer pays within the limits |
| The business’s budget | A large, unexpected burden | Protected |
Who is a “third party” in insurance?
This is the most misunderstood point. A third party is someone with no family tie, employment contract or partnership with the insured, who is involved in the event from outside: customers, guests, visitors, passers-by. The insured, their partners, close family and employees are not third parties, and their losses are not paid by this policy.
| Person | Third party? |
|---|---|
| Customers, guests, visitors | Yes |
| Passers-by, neighbours | Yes |
| The insured and their business partners | No |
| The insured’s spouse, children and adopted children | No |
| The insured’s employees | No (this needs employer’s liability insurance) |
Does it pay if my employees are injured?
No. Losses suffered by your employees in work accidents are covered by employer’s liability insurance, not this policy. We recommend considering both for your business.
2. What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?
The policy covers events that happen while it is in force. Cover is limited by an amount set according to the business’s activity, structure and risk.
What are the main covers?
- Compensation claims for third parties being injured or killed, or their health being harmed
- Compensation claims for material damage to third parties’ property
It is not accident insurance paid directly to the injured person; it covers the compensation claim made against you, to the extent of your legal liability.
Which extras can be added?
The following risks can be added to the policy only by a separate agreement, and each extra affects the price:
- Damage to third parties caused by the building, lifts and goods lifts named in the policy
- Damage by garages and hotels to customers’ belongings, animals and vehicles
Third-party liability is also one of the extra covers of construction insurance.
Can it be combined with business insurance?
Yes. Third-party liability can be added to business insurance as an extra cover or taken out as a separate policy. Business insurance protects your premises and stock; public liability insurance protects you against damage you cause to others. The two complement each other. If you need a high limit, a separate policy may offer more flexible options.
3. What Does Public Liability Insurance Not Cover?
Some situations listed in the general conditions are excluded. We review together at the quote stage which of them can be added with an extra.
Which situations are excluded?
- Intentional damage
- Claims based on a contract or special agreement that go beyond your legal liability
- Civil unrest, rebellion, uprising, revolution and war
- Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and avalanches; damage from fire, explosion, steam, fog, damp and rot
- Claims by your family and by people bound to you by service or power of attorney
- Damage during competitions and training
- Claims against drivers and owners of motor vehicles, bicycles, trailers and aircraft
- Damage to other people’s property in your care, custody or transport
- Damage from terrorist acts and from measures taken by the authorities to prevent them
Some risks such as fire and explosion can be specifically covered for certain businesses (for example restaurants); we check the special conditions of your policy together.
Why is damage caused by vehicles excluded?
Damage caused to others by motor vehicles is covered by compulsory traffic insurance and by the voluntary liability (İMM) cover in kasko. So public liability insurance does not cover vehicle-related damage.
4. Who Is Public Liability Insurance For?
Whatever its activity, any business that receives customers or visitors may need this insurance. It is most often used in these areas:
| Business | Example risk |
|---|---|
| Hotel, guesthouse, holiday village | A guest slipping by the pool or falling on the stairs |
| Restaurant, café | A customer affected by fire, explosion or smoke; food poisoning |
| School, nursery, educational institution | A pupil having an accident at school |
| Shop, shopping centre | A customer falling on a wet floor or hit by an item falling from a shelf |
| Repair shop, car park, petrol station | Damage to a customer or their vehicle |
| Building owner, site manager | A part falling from the building and injuring a passer-by or damaging a car |
What does it offer hotels and accommodation businesses?
It covers legal compensation claims that guests and other third parties may bring against the owner or operator of a hotel, guesthouse, motel or holiday village because of its activities. In a hotel full of pools, stairs, restaurants and common areas, everyday risks are far from small. With an extra, damage to guests’ vehicles and belongings can also be covered.
What does it offer restaurants and cafés?
Claims for bodily injury to customers caused by fire, explosion or smoke in the restaurant, and for food poisoning from the food and drink served, can be covered within the policy limits.
What does it offer schools and nurseries?
Accidents can happen during activities at kindergartens, nurseries, schools and universities. Compensation claimed if enrolled pupils are harmed is covered within the policy limits.
What does it offer building owners, site managers and lifts?
It covers damage that owners and managers of commercial or residential buildings may cause to third parties — for example a part falling from the building and injuring a passer-by or damaging a parked car. The building’s lifts and car parks can also be covered if you wish. For accidents in the lifts named in the policy, the liability of the lift owner and operator is protected too.
What does it offer repair shops, car parks and petrol stations?
It protects against damage to third parties and their vehicles at service stations, repair shops, garages, car parks and petrol stations, according to the limits in the policy.
5. Frequently Asked Questions About Public Liability Insurance
What is public (third-party) liability insurance?
Insurance that covers, within the policy limits, compensation claims made against you for bodily injury and property damage that you or your employees unintentionally cause to others while doing your work.
Is it the same as “mali mesuliyet” insurance?
Yes. In Turkish, “üçüncü şahıs mali mesuliyet sigortası” and “üçüncü şahıs mali sorumluluk sigortası” are two names for the same insurance.
Is public liability insurance compulsory?
In general it is optional. But for businesses that receive customers or visitors, it is one of the most important protections against large compensation claims.
Who does not count as a third party?
The insured, their partners, spouse, children and employees are not third parties; their losses are not paid by this policy.
Does it cover my employees’ work accidents?
No. Employees’ work accidents are covered by employer’s liability insurance.
Will insurance pay if a customer slips and falls at my business?
If the business is legally liable for the incident, the customer’s treatment costs and compensation claim are covered within the policy limits.
Is food poisoning at a restaurant covered?
In policies for restaurants, food poisoning claims arising from the food and drink served can be covered within the policy limits.
My business insurance already has third-party cover. Do I need more?
Let us check the limit of the third-party cover in your business policy together. If it is too low for your business’s risk, the limit can be raised or a separate policy taken out.
What determines the price?
The business’s activity and size, the chosen cover limit and any extras added.
Cover limits, extras and exclusions vary by the business activity and the insurer. This page is for general information; contact us for a quote for your business.
Public liability insurance for your business
We compare quotes from seven insurers and choose the best one for you together.
We set the limit together according to your business size and activity, and compare quotes for you.