Covers
Management liability insurance for pubs and clubs
Management liability insurance covers the directors and managers who run your pub or club if someone claims they've run it badly.
01
Who it's there for
As business.gov.au explains it, this cover protects directors, officers and managers when they're sued over the way they've run the business. It can also protect your assets if a decision of theirs leaves another person or business worse off.
1
Directors
Whoever sits on the board of the company that owns or runs the venue.
2
Officers
People who hold a formal position in the company, such as the company secretary.
3
Managers
The people running the floor, the books and the staff day to day.
02
The parts a package can include
It's usually bought as a package made up of several parts, and business.gov.au lists these six.
Directors and officers
Claims that the people in charge made a wrong decision.
Employment practices
Claims by your staff about how they were hired, treated at work or let go.
Crime
Theft by an employee, and some crimes committed by outsiders.
Fines and tax audits
Some government fines, and some costs of a tax audit.
Cyber and privacy
Claims when private details about customers or staff are leaked or stolen.
Statutory liability
Some costs if the business is accused of breaking a law passed by parliament, which is what statutory means.
03
Pubs that employ staff
Grace Insurance, which Pub Insurance is part of, lists management liability together with workers compensation. It says a venue may need them once it employs staff, or once it's a larger business with directors, managers and an employer's legal duties.
04
Comparing management liability quotes
business.gov.au warns that management liability insurance is complex. Have your broker go through the quotes with you part by part, and ask which parts are optional.
05
Who runs the venue
Who might face a claim depends on how the venue is owned and run.
In New South Wales, a club's board is limited to nine people, and some or all of the directors must be trained. Say how many directors you have and which have done the training.
Tell your broker who manages the staff and the security team, as claims about how staff are treated come under employment practices.
If a company owns the brewery, name its directors and say whether the same company runs the taproom.
Questions from owners and directors
It depends on your venue, and a quote will help you decide. Choose management liability in the form's list of covers, and insurers can quote it with anything else you need.
Each policy's terms say who it covers. Tell your broker how the club is run and who's on the committee, and they'll check which quotes include them.
Directors' and officers' liability, often shortened to D&O, is one of the six parts business.gov.au lists for a management liability package. The others include claims from staff and theft by employees.
If a falling beer garden umbrella injures a guest, public liability handles that claim. A claim that a director's decision cost someone money, or that staff were treated unfairly, goes to management liability.