Is public liability insurance compulsory by law?

Public liability insurance isn’t mandatory under UK law, but it’s worth considering as it can protect you financially should someone take legal action against you for property damage or injury. It protects the interests of both the public and your clients, and applies at your premises and others’.

Popular trades we insure

At Simply Business we insure all kinds of trades like:

• Builders insurance
• Catering insurance
• Cleaning insurance
• Contractor insurance
• Hairdressing insurance
• Home baking insurance
• Online retailer insurance
• Pub insurance
• Public liability insurance for security guards
• Restaurant insurance
• Roofers insurance
• Takeaway insurance

Is your profession not listed? When you run a quote you can select your trade from over 1,000 options.

Is public liability insurance a legal requirement?

Public liability insurance isn’t compulsory. In fact, in the UK, the only compulsory cover is employers' liability insurance, which is a legal requirement for most businesses that employ staff.

However, while it isn’t a legal requirement, you should think about taking out public liability as part of your business insurance policy anyway, as it can protect you if someone makes a claim against you for injury or damage to property suffered because of your business.

It works in two ways - if you have a business premises where clients come to visit you, then public liability can step in should one of your clients trip and hurt themselves, for example.

On the other hand, if your business operates in public, then public liability cover can protect you if you accidentally injure a member of the public during the course of your work.

Businesses that buy public liability insurance

Though public liability insurance isn’t compulsory, there are a number of businesses who may benefit from having a public liability policy in place.

If you operate in public or invite clients to visit your business premises - whether that’s your kitchen or a corporate office - then you may want to consider public liability cover.

So whether you’re a painter and decorator, a home baker or anywhere inbetween, public liability insurance can help you out both financially and legally in case of an accident.

At times, public liability cover may be required by your client contracts and some companies are obliged by their regulator or membership body to take out a certain level of business insurance.