Free Advice from Terri Scheer Insurance

Legal Liability - Who is responsible?
Gaynor Megaw, Business Relationship Manager, New South Wales
Who is responsible if a tenant or tenant's guest trips on a loose piece of carpet or floor tile and
injures themselves in a fall? Who covers the medical bills and the expense for not being able to go
to work?? What if they also hit their head against a wall and do not recover? Scary thought.
This unfortunate accident is just one of many unforseen scenarios that could happen at any
investment property. It’s quite likely there would be a liability suit against the landlord by the tenant
which could result in the court awarding them a large payout, not to mention the cost of the legal
fees!
If the Landlord does not have adequate Legal Liability cover or no cover at all, they could be in
serious financial difficulty.
All of the Terri Scheer Landlord insurance products contain Legal Liability cover up to $20 million to
cover such situations.
Landlords have a legal responsibility (or duty of care) to their tenants to ensure they maintain their
investment property in reasonable condition at all times. However there may be times when
something may occur "out of the blue" which can cause death or bodily injury to other people or
damage other people's property for which the Landlord may be deemed legally responsible.
This is what insurance is all about - covering those times when the unexpected occurs.
The Property Manager also has an assumed duty of care to the Landlord to inform them of the unique risks involved in leasing their
property and the availability of insurance to cover such risks; in particular, to cover their legal liability.
Landlords trust that their Property Manager will professionally manage their property in all aspects including risk management and by
offering this service to your Landlord could make the difference to obtaining their new business or not by showing that you do care and
have the option available.