If you dedicate yourself to the hospitality sector and work in Tenerife, you should know that to carry out your professional activity you are obliged to take out a civil liability insurance. This is because, in accordance with our Civil Code, any person who, in the course of any activity, causes damage to a third party is obliged to repair and compensate such damage.
In this way, our Civil Code foresees the economic consequences that the production of any damage will have, but it must be taken into account that the risk of this damage occurring and the amount of compensation will depend on each specific case.
For this reason, we can find on the market different types of liability insurance with which to face the expenses derived from the compensation for the production of the damage: Life insurances, Home insurance, Professional liability insurance or Car and motorcycle insurance, among many others.
To fully understand these concepts and determine which Insurance is the one that best suits our needs, the most advisable thing is to have the services of a consultancy such as Euroteide Insurance, where you will be explained what policy you need to take out to carry out your professional activity in Tenerife, although it is the same throughout the whole of Spain.
What is a professional liability insurance?
The Professional liability insurance is a type of Insurance through which the insurer will face economic claims for civil liability. This means that the Professional Civil Liability Insurance shifts the payment of the corresponding compensation for the damages caused to a third party to an insurance company, so that the professional causing the damage will not have to pay anything in exchange for paying the corresponding premium of the insurance policy.
The purpose of this type of insurance is to cover the material, personal and consequential damage that the professional may have caused to a third party in the performance of the functions inherent to his job, with the insurer assuming this risk and who, in the event of the damage occurring, will pay the corresponding compensation. However, although it is true that the insurance company will pay the economic consequences of the damage caused, it is no less true that there is a limit: the insured capital agreed in the insurance policy.
What minimum coverage does professional liability insurance have?
Although the professional liability insurance coverage will depend to a great extent on the professional activity carried out, the truth is that there are a series of minimum coverages that are given in the vast majority of professional liability insurances. These are the following:
- Professional civil liability: It is the responsibility incurred by any professional or company that, in the course of its activity, causes primary material, personal or property damage to a third party, normally a client who requests its services.
- Primary property damage: refers to economic damages that do not derive directly from personal or material damage, that is, they are economic damages.
- Bail and defense: In addition to facing the corresponding compensation, the professional civil liability insurance policy usually includes the bond for said compensation and the expenses of the legal defense of the professional in question in the corresponding judicial process.
- Civil liability for the exploitation of the premises: It is that responsibility that the company or professional will have to face for the damages caused to a third party derived from the use and exploitation of the premises where the professional activity is carried out.
- Loss or destruction of records: refers to the loss or deletion of customer documents.
- Civil liability of dependent personnel: It is the civil liability incurred by the company or the professional for damages caused to a third party by its staff.
- Civil liability for mediation activity in civil and commercial matters.
And what optional coverage does the Professional Civil Liability Insurance have?
However, in addition to the basic or minimum coverage, insurers also offer a series of optional coverages that the professional or company may contract with the insurer. The most common optional coverages are the following:
- Locative civil liability: It is that responsibility that the company or professional incurs for the damages caused in the rented premises to carry out the professional activity in question.
- Employers liability: It is that responsibility that the company or professional will have to face for the damages caused to their workers in an occupational accident.
- Professional disability: In the event that the professional or the insured company has been disqualified from carrying out their job by virtue of a final judicial decision, they will receive monthly compensation from the insurance company.
- Civil liability for infidelity of workers: In the event of fraudulent conduct by the workers of the company or the insured professional, the insurance company will face the civil liability derived from these actions.
When is it compulsory to take out professional civil liability insurance?
Although it is not always obligatory to take out a civil liability insurance, it is always a good idea to have this type of insurance, especially for employers and professionals in the development of their professional activity.
A professional civil liability insurance is not compulsory for all companies or for all professionals: its obligation depends on the professional activity carried out. A professional civil liability insurance is compulsory for the following professionals:
- Restaurants, bars and cafes.
- Lawyers
- Individuals and legal entities providing health services.
- Professionals who provide private healthcare.
- Insolvency administrators.
- Conservative elevator companies.
- Insurance brokers.
- Financial intermediaries.
- Premises and establishments where recreational activities are carried out, such as cinemas or theaters.
- Premises where zoological, botanical or geological activities are carried out.
- Recreational rooms.
- Sports complexes and gyms.
- Collective public transport or school transport companies.
- Travel agencies.
- API (Real Estate Agents).
- Property managers.
In the case of self-employed hotel and catering workers working in Tenerife, they must take out professional liability insurance to cover damage caused to third parties in the course of their professional activity, as well as damage caused to their own employees.
In any case, before taking out any Insurance, the best thing to do is to get proper information from professionals in the sector such as the team of Euroteide Insurance.