The Law of Insurance and Public Liability
In the course of managing any property, you are obliged to comply with laws and statutes administered by government and municipal bodies. These bodies impose various liabilities of which the property owner/manager should be aware.
The most common examples of statute liability are in areas where you are required by law to effect insurance, e.g. workers' compensation and motor vehicle compulsory third party.
Property, hotel and operations managers should become familiar with the various types of contracts involved in commercial and retail activities. These cover a wide field but the more significant contracts are:
- the head lease or the management agreements
- tenancy and casual leasing agreements
- contracts with independent contractors for cleaning, lift and escalator maintenance, air conditioning and fire protection maintenance, etc.
The major contractual liability from an insurance viewpoint is undoubtedly found in head lease and management agreements. These require the manager or head lessee to fully maintain, repair and replace the property, if damaged, until expiration of the agreement or lease.
Furthermore, the contracts usually require an indemnity to the owner against liabilities imposed upon him for injuries and property damage arising out of the use, occupation or management of the property.
Every contract contains covenants imposing responsibilities on one or other of the parties. These should be carefully examined to ensure they are not unduly onerous
Read more about this topic: Public Liability
Famous quotes containing the words law, insurance and/or public:
“Unless we maintain correctional institutions of such character that they create respect for law and government instead of breeding resentment and a desire for revenge, we are meeting lawlessness with stupidity and making a travesty of justice.”
—Mary B. Harris (1874–1957)
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“If you have got the public in the palm of your hand, you can be sure that is where they want to be.”
—Cliff Richard (b. 1940)