Public liability insurance
Join over 900,000 businesses with cover from £3.49 per month*
- 95% of settled claims paid within 24 hours last year
- Get tailored liability insurance quotes in less than 7 minutes
- Offering between £1 million and £10 million in claims*
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What does public liability insurance cover?
The UK’s most common accident is a slip, trip, or fall, and the majority of them happen out and about. Public liability insurance, also known as PL or liability insurance is designed to protect your business against third party claims for injuries or property damage, whether you’re at fault or not.
Most liability insurance covers you for accidents on your premises or off-site, from a customer tripping over your tool kit to damaging someone’s dress during hair-up at a wedding. It’s important to review a public liability insurance quote carefully, checking your insurer offers cover for the risks you face.
Keep in mind, accidents caused by your employees will only be covered if you have employers’ liability insurance in place too.
Injury
Damage
Product liability
Injury
What does this cover?
- accidental injury to a third party, as a direct result of your work
- legal fees and cover, up to the level stated on your policy wording
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, you accidentally spill boiling water on your client’s hand, causing a bad burn and long-term injury
What isn’t covered?
- accidental injury caused by your employees or anyone else in your business – you’d usually need to add employers’ liability insurance to cover this
Damage
What does this cover?
- accidental damage to a third party’s property, as a direct result of your work
- legal fees and cover, up to the level stated on your policy wording
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, you accidentally knock your client’s laptop onto a hard concrete floor, damaging it beyond repair
What isn’t covered?
- accidental damage caused by your employees or anyone else working for your business – you’d usually need to add employers’ liability insurance to cover this
Product liability
What does this cover?
- accidental injury to a third party, caused by a product you’ve made or sold
- legal fees and cover, up to the level stated on your policy wording
When would I need to make a claim?
- for example, you accidentally give a customer food poisoning, as a result of food you’ve prepared and sold from your snack bar, or
- your wooden toy company is held responsible for a child’s injury, caused by a defect in a product you’ve made
What isn’t covered?
- accidental damage caused by your employees or anyone else in your business – you’d usually need to add employers’ liability insurance to cover this
- not all insurers offer cover for product liability – check your policy wording carefully before you buy
Compare public liability insurance quotes from as little as £3.19 today.
10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a Public Liability Insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
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We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
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Public liability insurance for a wide range of trades
Public liability insurance for business protects your work by covering the legal claim if a member of the public is injured, gets ill, or loses out financially and blames your business. Some examples of trades we cover include:
Is your profession not listed? When you run a quote you can select your trade from over 1,000 options. Running a quote should give you an idea of the PL insurance cost for your business.
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£51 million in claims paid out in 2023
Paying 95% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2023
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. "Settled" covers paid, declined or withdrawn. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 24/04/2024.
Liability insurance covers FAQs
This is a key cover for most businesses – our comprehensive FAQs answer some of the most popular questions about public liability insurance. You can also check out our public liability insurance FAQs.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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