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Why This Comparison Matters for Steel Manufacturers
Steel manufacturing liability losses can be high severity. A single incident can involve multiple “liability lanes” at once: an injury on site (public liability), damage caused by a supplied product (products liability), and pollution or clean-up costs from smoke, runoff, oils or chemicals (environmental liability).
The challenge is that these covers are often misunderstood and sometimes assumed to be “all included” within a general public liability policy. In reality, each has different triggers, exclusions and gaps - and steel operations have specific issues such as hot works, heavy lifting, coil handling, oils/hydraulics, effluent treatment and storage of materials.
This guide explains the differences in plain English, highlights typical claim scenarios, and shows where you may need extensions or specialist environmental cover.
At a Glance: What Each Policy Is Designed to Cover
Here’s the simplest way to think about the three covers:
Public Liability
- Injury or property damage to third parties arising from your premises/operations
- Typical examples: visitor injury, contractor accident, dropped load damaging a vehicle
- Often includes legal defence costs
- Usually applies while the incident is connected to your operations (including loading/unloading if included)
Products Liability
- Injury or property damage caused by your product after it leaves your control
- Typical examples: a supplied steel component fails and causes property damage or injury
- Often written together with public liability as “public & products”
- Usually excludes the cost of repairing/replacing your own faulty product (unless specifically arranged)
Environmental Liability (Pollution Liability)
- Pollution events, clean-up and third-party claims (wording dependent)
- Typical examples: oil/hydraulic spill, chemical runoff, smoke contamination, soil/water clean-up
- Standard liability policies often exclude gradual pollution and may restrict clean-up costs
- Specialist environmental cover can address gaps, including remediation (where insurable)
Steel Manufacturing Claim Scenarios: Which Policy Responds?
These examples show how the policies typically line up. The exact outcome depends on wording, exclusions and facts.
Scenario A: Contractor injured on your premises
- Likely cover lane: Public Liability (third-party injury)
- If injured person is your employee/labour-only: Employers’ Liability
- Insurers will review site controls, inductions, RAMS and supervision
Scenario B: Dropped coil damages a customer vehicle during loading
- Likely cover lane: Public Liability (property damage)
- Watch: “care, custody & control” restrictions and loading/unloading endorsements
- Risk controls: lift plans, certified lifting gear, trained operators, segregation
Scenario C: Supplied steel component fails at customer site and causes damage
- Likely cover lane: Products Liability
- Watch: what counts as your “product”, territories, and contract requirements
- Note: fixing your own product is usually not covered (unless arranged)
Scenario D: Oil/hydraulic leak enters drains and requires clean-up
- Likely cover lane: may require Environmental Liability
- Public liability may exclude pollution (especially gradual) or limit clean-up
- Environmental cover can include remediation and third-party claims (wording dependent)
Scenario E: Fire produces smoke/contamination affecting neighbours
- Third-party property damage: often Public Liability
- Pollution/clean-up elements: may require Environmental Liability
- Multiple policies can be relevant depending on loss details
Scenario F: Customer alleges your spec/advice caused financial loss
- Likely cover lane: Professional Indemnity
- Public/products policies usually won’t cover pure financial loss from advice
- Important where you advise on grade selection, treatment or design input
Common Gaps: Where Steel Manufacturers Get Caught Out
The biggest surprises often come from assumptions. Here are the common “gap areas” we see:
- Pollution exclusions: many liability policies restrict gradual pollution and clean-up costs
- Care, custody & control: customer property on your site may have limited cover
- Hot works restrictions: conditions/warranties can affect claim outcomes
- Territories/jurisdiction: exporting steel can require broader terms
- Recall/rectification: the cost to fix your own product is usually excluded
- Contractual liabilities: penalties and indemnities may exceed policy scope
A well-built steel manufacturing programme coordinates liability covers so you understand what is protected, what isn’t, and where additional specialist cover may be needed.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Is products liability included with public liability?
Often, yes - many policies are written as “public & products liability”. However, limits, territories and exclusions still matter, especially for exports or high-criticality products.
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Does public liability cover pollution clean-up?
Often with restrictions. Many policies exclude gradual pollution and may limit clean-up costs. Environmental liability insurance is designed to address pollution events and remediation (subject to wording).
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Does products liability pay to replace my defective steel product?
Usually not. Products liability typically covers injury or third-party property damage caused by your product, not the cost of repairing/replacing your own product. Specialist recall/rectification covers may be available in some cases.
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When do I need environmental liability insurance?
If you have oils, fuels, chemicals, effluent, storage tanks, drainage risk, or proximity to waterways/third-party property, environmental cover may be important. It can also be required by landlords or regulators depending on the site.
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How can Insure24 help reduce liability gaps?
We review your operations, contracts and risk controls, then structure the liability programme (public/products/environmental and, where relevant, PI) to reduce exclusions and ensure limits match your real-world exposure.