Public liability insurance for creatives

In case your business causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public and product liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, caused by your business
• an injury or illness caused by your business activities and products
• accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees

If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

For example:

• a new painting you’ve hung in your studio falls and causes a client a head injury
• while working on an installation, you leave a cable lying across the floor, causing a trip and fall accident

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

• your employee injures their lower back while moving heavy equipment between rooms at a gallery space you’re renting
• a temp you’ve hired for the busy festival season injures their foot when an installation material overturns on them

Professional indemnity insurance for creatives

In case a client loses money because of your advice, services or designs.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Claims against your creative business for professional negligence or a loss-causing breach of contract. This can include:

• advice which turns out to be incorrect
• mistakes in your work that cost others money to fix

For example:

• a cyber attack exposes sensitive data which you’re using to create a board meeting pack, and your client needs to hire an expert to address the damage
• you miss a contractual deadline and your client is forced to delay their new product launch

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like laptops or office filing cabinets are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your creative business
• theft, flood, and fire damage

For example:

• while moving your desktop computer and two processors to a new studio space, you trip and drop everything on a concrete floor
• during a break-in at your business unit, three laptops are stolen, plus six sets of headphones

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of your tools and equipment
• handheld, portable tools, including electronics
• cover for your tools in transit in any vehicle owned or leased by you, anywhere in the UK

For example:

• your tools are stolen from an overhead locker while you’re travelling to an industry showcase
• you leave a small bag of tools in a shared workspace, and they’re never recovered

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case the materials you rely on for work are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of things like memory cards, creative supplies, and branded materials

For example:

• you’ve ordered a shipment of painting supplies for a school demonstration, which get damaged while you’re unloading your car
• a flood at your storage unit destroys your entire stock of imported glass

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you face legal costs in connection with your creative business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs attributed to your creative business
• property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
• access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation as a respected creative

For example:

• you incur legal costs when your employee raises a claim against you for lower back problems
• you need to pay for legal representation when a studio employee damages your specialist equipment

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• accidental injury or death at or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you’re in a minor car accident on your way to the studio, and can’t work for three weeks due to severe bruising
• your business partner is thrown from their horse while riding and breaks their collarbone, causing them to miss an important pitch

Read more about personal accident insurance

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does creative insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider web designer insurance or designers insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Interior design insurance
• Garden design insurance
• Fashion insurance
• Photography insurance
• Videographer insurance
• Architects insurance
• Project management insurance
• Landscape architect insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.