Meaning & use
liability insurance
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablebusinessfinance
Insurance that pays for harm or damage you are legally responsible for causing to other people or their property.
Grammar: Uncountable: she bought liability insurance, not a liability insurance.
Patterns
- liability insurance for something
- take out liability insurance
If a customer slips in the shop and sues, the owner's liability insurance should pay the damages.
Many landlords are required to carry liability insurance on their rental properties.
The photographer bought liability insurance before starting her wedding business.
Common combinations
- take out liability insurance
- He took out liability insurance when he opened his cafe.
- public liability insurance
- Market stall holders usually need public liability insurance.
- professional liability insurance
- Doctors and accountants carry professional liability insurance.
- general liability insurance
- The contractor had general liability insurance covering accidents on site.
- carry liability insurance
- All drivers must carry liability insurance.
- liability insurance policy
- Check what your liability insurance policy does not cover.
Synonyms and how they differ
- third-party insurance
- Third-party insurance is the common British phrase for the same idea, especially for cars, and it stresses that others, not you, are protected.
- indemnity insurance
- Indemnity insurance is a more formal term, often used for professionals who might be sued for mistakes in their advice.
- public liability cover
- Public liability cover is the British way to describe protection against injuries to members of the public, and it is narrower than liability insurance in general.
Word family
Commonly confused: liability insurance or comprehensive insurance?
liability insurance vs comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive insurance for a car covers damage to your own vehicle too, while liability insurance covers only harm you cause to others.
Practice
If a customer slips in the shop and sues, the owner's ___ should pay the damages.
Choose one answer.
Liability insurance covers the cost of harm you cause to others. Life, travel and health insurance protect the policyholder's own life, trip or medical costs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “liability insurance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.