What is a Domestic Liability & Indemnity Agreement and Why do I need one?
| An easy question deserves an easy answer…-
to rid or at least reduce your liability if anything
goes wrong, that's why. |
Say that again?
Day to day life has most of us going about our usual daily
chores without ever really thinking of the consequences
of something going wrong with us being held to blame, for
something we had no involvement in.
One couldn't be blamed for not thinking in the negative
however, as insurance professionals we have often been quite
shocked just how far people will go to blame another person
for injuries or property damage especially, where money
is involved.
If you take time to read some other information available
on this website concerning "public liability"
- "product liability" - "negligence matters"
you will also probably be quite shocked at some of the things
that can and do happen.
We thought well if the no one else is going to do something
we better had so, we developed this "Domestic Liability
& Indemnity Agreement" which can be down loaded
from this site for free and used by just about anybody when
engaging someone to provide you a domestic service at home
such as a tradesman, handyman or gardener might.
By insisting the service provider agree to the terms of
the Agreement it should rid you of any liability that may
have attached to you if not for the agreement - in other
words it should give you considerable protection from liability
arising from something going wrong at your property caused
by a service provider.
Here are a couple of examples of what could go wrong:
|
Case 1 |
You hire a gardener to mow your lawn and carry-out
general garden maintenance on a monthly basis for about
3 hours each visit. The gardener while doing his rounds
uses a brush cutter (whipper sniper) which accidentally
hurls a stone into the face of a person walking by,
causing that person to sustain serious facial damage
and permanent vision impairment.
A claim for substantial damages is commenced by the
injured person against the gardener however; the gardener
is uninsured and has little or no assets. The injured
person then joins you into the action on the premise
that the gardener was your agent (carrying out a service
on your behalf at your direction and with your approval).
All of a sudden your whole financial future could be
threatened.
How
could the Agreement have helped?
If the agreement had been signed and the gardener had
adhered to its terms they would have had to have their
own liability insurance therefore diminishing the risk
of you being sued at all. The agreement doesn't cost
anything to use and if a trades person or infact any
person working on your property or doing something for
you is not insured - you shouldn't be letting them start
in the first place. This Agreement is a sort of check
and balance procedure.
For our
Domestic Liability & Indemnity Agreement Form
click here.
|
|
Case 2 |
| An electrician wires up some lights
in your back yard for the barbecue area. Everything
works well for the first 2 years however, one day
when a planned barbecue had to be cancelled because
of rain you ask one of the guests to switch out the
lights but, in doing so that person is electrocuted
to death as a result of faulty wiring.
The family of the deceased person then commences a
claim in the millions of dollars against you as the
property owner. You then make every endeavor to locate
the electrician but, you can't find them and what's
worse you got a discount because you had agreed to
pay him/her in cash with no receipt. Your house and
everything you have is on the line - with further
potential to be charged under law for the person's
death.
How could the Agreement
have helped?
If the agreement had been put forward to the electrician
and he/she refused to sign it the simple notion would
be that the work would not have been undertaken by
that person. However, if it had been signed and the
electrician adhered to its terms you would then have
had a record of the electrician's insurance company
and insurance policy number which would have helped
with a claim under the electrician's insurance cover.
It might also help prove that a licensed electrician
had done the work.
For our
Domestic Liability & Indemnity Agreement Form
click here.
|
|
Case 3 |
A painter is engaged to spray paint the
outside of your house however, during the course of
the painting wind carries overspray across to your neighbors
driveway and on to their brand new car and what's worse
the windows were open. As a result, the car's paint
is damaged as is the interior but, not to a point where
the car is a write-off. The clean up bill comes to $3,000.00
plus a week's taxi fares to and from work for your neighbor.
You have asked the painter to pay for the damage but
they refuse quoting the often blasphemed term "no
mate it was an act of god - anyway I haven't got insurance".
You decide to withhold payment from the painter and
they commence a collection action against you - all
very messy.
How
could the Agreement have helped?
If the agreement had been put forward to the painter
and he/she adhered to its terms by holding public liability
insurance it would have been a simple matter for the
painter to call upon his/her insurer to pay for the
damage or reimburse you the costs of having your neighbor's
car cleaned up.
For our
Domestic Liability & Indemnity Agreement Form
click here.
|
Summary:
The above examples are simply examples of what could happen.
So for peace of mind and no cost to you why not insist that
anyone undertaking any work at your home for anything whatsoever
signs this "Domestic Liability & Indemnity Agreement".
Remember, professional people who take pride in their work
will most always have their own public liability insurance
to cover them against the things mentioned in the Agreement
so, if they will not sign it - there might be something
wrong.
Disclaimer:
The material published on R&GIB's site is provided for information purposes
and as a convenience to visitors. While R&GIB has tried to provide accurate
and timely information, there may be inadvertent technical or factual inaccuracies
and typographical errors for which we apologies. Neither R&GIB nor any of
its employees or agents shall be liable for any losses or injuries caused by negligence
or contingencies caused beyond its control in procuring, compiling, interpreting,
reporting, or delivering the service and its information.
When considering insurance from information contained on this website you should
ensure that you have examined R&GIB's Financial Services Guide (FSG) -and-
Statement of Advice (SOA) in relation to any particular insurance product, the
insurance policy covering any insurance product and any other pertinent information
referenced or recommended.
A copy of the "Insurance Contracts Act", along with the aforementioned
material is available to read and download from R&GIB's home page or alternatively
such can be forwarded by fax or post upon request.If in doubt about any matter
concerning the site and/or the information contained on the site please contact
R&GIB so that your concern can be addressed. In some cases it may be necessary
for you to obtain independent legal advice. All references in this site to '$'
or 'dollars' are references to Australian currency unless otherwise stated. |
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