Public liability insurance for publishers liability insurance (public and product)

In case your business causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

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

For example:

• while hosting a meeting, you leave a cable running across the open office floor and your client trips, spraining their ankle
• you accidentally spill hot coffee over a client, causing a burn

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill 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 office junior slips on some stairs in your premises after they’ve been cleaned, twisting their ankle
• your secretary is lifting some paper from a shelf and dislodges an old printer, which falls and causes her a head injury

Professional indemnity insurance for publishers insurance

In case there’s a claim for loss-causing errors or issues with your work.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Claims against your 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:

• your client suffers a financial loss after your publish their article with errors included
• you advise a client on the best way to format their new book – sales are lower than expected and your client claims against you

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to the equipment you rely on

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

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

For example:

• someone breaks into your office and steals three company laptops
• your office printer, photocopier, and a new phone are damaged beyond repair during a flood

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Stock insurance

In case the products and materials you rely on are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of the essentials you keep in stock, like book copies and promotional materials

For example:

• your entire stock of promotional materials for an author’s book launch are destroyed in a flood in your office
• valuable first edition stock is stolen from your office

Read more about stock insurance

Building insurance

In case something happens to your publishing business premises.

What’s typically covered by building insurance?

• the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your building (or rebuilding it from scratch)
• damage to fixtures and fittings
• damage to underground pipes and cables you’re responsible for

For example:

• you need to rebuild your premises from scratch, after extensive damage caused by a fire
• your fixed lighting and meeting room fittings are damaged in a flood

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tenants’ improvements – changes to the property’s structure which you’ve organised and paid for yourself, like partition walls or wooden flooring

Read more about buildings insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your publishing business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs that you’re responsible for, within your publishing 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 publisher

For example:

• you need to cover legal costs when HMRC begin an ongoing investigation into your tax affairs
• an employee brings a discrimination claim against you while they’re on maternity leave, and you need to hire legal representation

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident, at work or elsewhere.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• accidental injury or death of anyone you’ve chosen to cover in your policy – whether this happens at work or elsewhere
• lost income, hospital bills, or other medical costs associated with the accident

For example:

• you cut your hand badly on a broken drawer in your office, and need an operation
• your employee (who you’ve covered on the policy) fractures her foot at a weekend birthday party

Read more about personal accident insurance

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.

Does publishers 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 copywriter insurance or journalist insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Will writing insurance
• Translator insurance
• Bookkeeping insurance
• Web designer insurance
• Photography insurance
• Videographer insurance
• Designers insurance
• Marketing consultant 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.