Public Liability Insurance

What is Public Liability Insurance?

Public liability insurance can best be described as a type of insurance that provides individuals and businesses protection against third party claims, whether it's in response to damage caused, any accidental injury or any other consequential loss that’s resulted from the individual or business.

Typically, for businesses, public liability insurance protects them if a member of the public tries to sue them if they feel like they have suffered a loss or personal injury as a result of your lack of care. If this is the case, the business is then liable and can fall back on public liability insurance to cover the costs needed to compensate whoever suffered from the business’s activities.

What does Public Liability cover?

• Compensation costs - Any claims made against you would require you to compensate, and public liability cover can cover this for you.
• Medical fees - saves you having to pay for the cost of medical treatment is someone is injured or falls ill on your own property.
• Cost of repairs - saves you paying a fee for repairing any accidental damage caused because of your business.
• Legal costs - any legal fees you need to pay for proceedings following public liability claims made against you could be covered as well.

Do I need Public Liability Insurance?

No, public liability insurance isn’t legally required or mandatory in the UK, but it is certainly recommended, especially if you’re operating a business which involves any form of contact with any third parties, whether that be clients, contractors, or any member of the public.

Businesses are only required to have employers' liability insurance if they have any employees who aren’t in the immediate family.

How much Public Liability Insurance do I need?

Generally speaking, the amount of coverage you will need will depend on your type of business and the level of risk. When considering risk this could be anything from using dangerous tools and equipment to the frequency of interaction you have with members of the public. Whilst this might not seem particularly 'risky', it does improve your chances of needing to claim your Public liability insurance.

Typically, you can choose the amount of coverage suitable for you and your business. Most liability policies have options for coverage of either £1m, £2m, £5m and some go up to £10m, although cover can be purchased at levels above this. We recommend a minimum of £5m for public liability cover.

What other types of insurance might my business need?

Public liability insurance isn't the only form of business liability insurance, and there are many other optional policies you can also take out to protect what's yours. Whilst some are a legal requirement, others don't need to be bought, but could be beneficial depending on the industry your business trades. Here are some other types of business insurance:

Employers' liability insurance

Employers' liability insurance protects you if have any employees.

Product liability insurance

If accidental damage to a property or an injury is caused by a product you sell, product liability insurance can cover you for any compensation costs you need to pay.

Professional indemnity insurance

If a client believes your business service has caused them suffer any loss in any way, whether it's property damage claims or an injury, this is the cover you need.

Business contents insurance

This simply protects any business equipment you have.

Is Professional Indemnity Insurance the same as Public Liability Insurance?

This is a common question, as both professional indemnity and public liability insurance are often referred to as each other. Whilst both are types of insurance designed to cover business-related compensation claims, professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance do differ. They are two separate types of business insurance.

Whilst public liability policies cover businesses for claims made against them by third parties for injuries, property damage and other losses that occur because of the business’s operations, professional indemnity on the other hand is designed to protect business against claims from professional negligence, errors, or omissions in the services they provide.

Who needs Public Liability Insurance?

On the surface, the answer to this question seems pretty simple; pretty much all businesses need public liability insurance. Any business that deals with other people needs to protect themselves from third-party public liability claim.

But what type of incidents could different businesses face?

Carpenters

Working on building frameworks could lead to injuries or accidental damage.

Painters and Decorators

Painting and decorating work comes with a wide range of risks.

Plumbers

Pipe work and maintaining water systems can result in property damage.

Dog walkers

Something unfortunate might have happened to a dog in your care.

Builders

Building sites can be hazardous and lead to accidents.

Couriers

Van drivers could accidentally damage someone's property whilst making deliveries.

This is going to look slightly different for every business, but if your business operates from a location that is visited by customers or clients, such as a hotel or coffee shop, or if you have employees who regularly work off-site, such as a plumber or builder, then you should consider public liability insurance. Even if your interaction with the public is minimal, opting for low coverage could potentially save you thousands.

Here's a list of the tradesmen, professionals and businesses we can provide public liability insurance policies to:

• Bricklayers
• Builders
• Carpenters
• Car Valeters
• Cleaners
• Contractors
• Electricians
• Freight Forwarders
• Gardeners
• Gas Engineers
• Groundworkers
• Handymen
• HVAC Engineers
• Landlords
• Limited Companies
• Manufacturers
• Market Traders
• Mechanics
• Painters and Decorators
• Personal Trainers
• Plumbers
• Roofers
• Shopfitters
• Sole Traders
• Steel Fabricators
• Subcontractors
• Tree Surgeons
• Scaffolders
• Self Employed workers
• Welders
• Window Manufacturers

What doesn't Public Liability Insurance cover?

As public liability insurance policies are only one type of business insurance, they aren't able to cover all aspects of business-related accidents and incidents. For instance, you’ll typically find that the following is not covered under public liability insurance:

• Accidents to you
• Accidents to your employees
• Damage to employees' possessions
• Damage to your own business premises
• Claims of fault with your work

All in all, it’s important to know exactly what your public liability insurance covers, so to avoid any nasty surprises, we advise identifying the extent of potential compensation payments and claims that your business may be vulnerable to and getting in touch with an insurance broker such as Howden who can help you fulfil your insurance needs.

How much does Public Liability Insurance cost?

We know that no policy or insurance policy is the same, and that is because no business requiring the insurance is the same either. It’s for that reason that we can’t offer an absolute fixed rate for public liability insurance policy.

However, you can keep in mind that there are many factors insurers consider when they determine how much a policy will cost. These factors include:

• The size and structure of your business
• Your type of business
• What industry your business is in
• The risk level of your business
• Where your business is located
• Your insurance claims history
• Your health and safety record

You should also consider how much excess you’re willing to pay once you claim on your public liability policy. Typically, the excess is anywhere between £250 and £500, but depending on your chosen coverage, the higher your excess, the lower your insurance premiums will be.

How to get a Public Liability Insurance quote

We want to make the process of securing you a public liability insurance policy quote you can count on straightforward and simple. You’ll have taken the first step in doing this by getting in touch with an insurance broker such as Howden, whether it be over the phone or in one of our UK branches.

Then, we’ll ask you to provide us with the following information:

• Details about your business – its name, its trade, where its located.
• The level of cover you require – how much cover do you need?
• Claims history information - any previous claims made against your business.
• Personal contact details - so we can be in touch with the best available policy options.
• Any additional cover options – such as other business liability insurances.

Once we have that information from you, we can proceed with compare our policy options and sourcing a public liability quote which is tailored to you and your expectations.

How can I make a claim?

We’re here to assist you when it matters most.

Whatever’s happened to you or your business, we’re here to help. It’s part of our service to make sure that your claim is dealt with as quickly as possible and without any hassle.

MAKE A CLAIM

Where can I find out more about Public Liability Insurance?

To find out more about public liability and other business insurance products, visit the Howden Blog. Below you can see some featured articles which might be able to answer any of the questions you have about liability insurance:

• The Difference Between Employee & Public Liability Insurance
• What is Public Liability Insurance? (Full Guide)
• How Much is Public Liability Insurance?
• Public Liability Insurance Certificate: All You Need to Know
• Why now is the time to take out Public Liability
• All you need to know about public and product liability insurance
• All you need to know about the public liability insurance certificate
• What’s the average employers’ liability insurance cost?
• What Is Liability Insurance? A Complete Guide
• What is Employers’ Liability Insurance?