Public liability insurance

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Why is public liability insurance important?

The UK’s most common accident is a slip, trip, or fall, and the majority of them happen out and about. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against third party claims for injuries or property damage – from a customer or client to a passer-by or visitor to your premises, whether you’re at fault or not.

  • Business liability insurance, UK-based claims and customer service team
  • Get it as a standalone cover or add it to a broader business insurance policy
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What does business liability insurance cover?

Most UK public 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 (for example, some insurers won’t cover accidents caused by your products).

Keep in mind, accidents caused by your employees will only be covered if you have employers’ liability insurance in place too.


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How much does public liability insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by completing a public liability insurance comparison from a range of trusted insurers.

Prices start from £6.56 per month

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Does public liability insurance cover my work?

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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Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am – 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am – 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am – 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am – 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am – 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am – 02.00pm

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Find answers to common insurance questions


How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

£28 million in claims paid out in 2021

Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2021


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 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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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.

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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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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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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