Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance (PLi) is one of the main types of business insurance. It protects you if a member of the public gets ill, injured, or suffers financially and blames your business. Public liability can cover the resulting legal costs and compensation payments.

There isn’t a legal requirement for your business to have PL insurance. But if you regularly interact with the public as part of your business, it’s an important protection to consider.

Public liability insurance reassures your customers that you – and they – are properly protected in case things go wrong. While it isn’t a legal obligation under UK law, your clients, industry regulator, or membership body may require you to have it. At Simply Business, we can provide public liability insurance for limited companies, and public liability insurance for individuals.

Here’s where public liability insurance can be useful: a furniture fitter needed to claim on his insurance while working on a house. A cabinet he had installed fell off the wall and knocked a fellow contractor off a step ladder, causing injury to the contractor’s wrist and back. The claim was settled at £25,235, but the furniture fitter only had to pay the £250 excess.

Check out more public liability claim examples

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If you deal with the public on a regular basis, you should seriously consider public liability insurance.

Public liability insurance protects you if a member of the public sues you for injury or damage. While it’s not required by law, it can protect you from crippling compensation costs. It’s a popular choice of cover with tradespeople, hairdressers, restaurant owners and shopkeepers.

If you have staff, it’s likely that getting employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. But while public liability insurance isn’t required by law in the UK, it’s worth considering and is an important cover for many businesses. It protects against claims and legal action for injury and property damage.

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Public liability insurance covers your business against compensation claims and legal costs if a third party suffers injury or property damage while on your premises, or while you’re working on their property.

But when it comes to liability insurance, what is it that you’re covered for? Typically, public liability cover can protect you against:

• compensation payments for third party injury (or even death)
• repair or replacement costs, for damaged property or possessions
• medical fees, if the NHS decide to claim for hospital treatment, or an ambulance call out
• legal expenses, while you’re defending any of these claims

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This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

These two covers have similar names but there are important differences. Public liability insurance protects against claims from members of the public, who are injured or suffer a loss and blame your business. Employers’ liability insurance protects against claims from employees, who are injured or get ill as a result of working for you.

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Simply Business offers a minimum level of £1 million public liability insurance. Depending on the nature of your business and client demands, you may need a higher level of cover.

It’s a good idea to check your policy when you take on each new job or contract. For example, companies working on government contracts are usually required to be covered for a minimum of £5 million or even £10 million in public liability insurance.

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Insurers generally don’t give out certificates because public liability isn’t a legal requirement. This is different to employers’ liability, which is a legal requirement and is certified.

Getting public liability insurance for your business is easy.

First, you’ll need to get a quote from us. Just answer a few questions about your business, and we’ll present you with a selection of insurers who offer the kind of insurance you’re looking for.

Once you’ve settled on the cover that’s right for you, you’ll be able to buy your insurance online in a matter of minutes. Or if you’d prefer, you can speak to someone in our contact centre who’ll walk you through the process.

Once you’ve bought your insurance, you’ll be covered straight away and we’ll email your policy documents over on the same day.

Public liability insurance can protect you and your business if a member of the public suffers an injury or another loss because of your business. If you sell, create, manufacture, or distribute a product, then it’s worth considering product liability insurance too, as it can provide further protection for you and your business.

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Businesses can deduct costs when calculating taxable profit. These are known as ‘allowable expenses’ – and business insurance is an allowable expense. Make sure you keep records of income and expenses, including receipts and invoices, for HMRC. This also means keeping your policy documents safe.

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This depends on a number of factors, like the type of business you run and the level of cover you choose. It’s easy to find out how much it might cost – just enter a few details about your business, and we’ll show you a selection of online business insurance quotes. Usually, businesses who insurers see as risky will pay more for their public liability insurance.

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