Professional liability insurance
Join over 900k UK customers like you – we offer public liability cover from £4.74*
- UK-based expert support, online and on the phone
- Get covered and all your documents the same day
- Get tailored quotes in less than 7 minutes
Compare quotes from leading brands
Rated 4.8/5
Based on 39,800 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
What is professional liability insurance?
For accountancy and legal professionals, or other types of advisory business, professional liability insurance (PLI for short) can be a key protection. It’s designed to protect you if a customer suffers a financial loss, and holds you responsible. Clients and professional bodies often require a minimum level of professional liability insurance coverage – we offer between £50,000 and £5 million, depending on the individual business.
Professional liability insurance is also known as professional indemnity insurance. They’re the same cover, designed to protect professionals against PI claims.
- professional liability insurance coverage between £50,000 and £5 million
- get it as a standalone cover or add it to a broader business insurance policy
- add tools, accident, and employee cover – you choose what you need
Professional liabilities insurance – what’s covered?
If you’re running an advisory business, professional liability insurance can cover your legal and compensation costs if a customer makes a financial loss because of your work. From negligence claims and mistakes to copyright infringement and breaches of confidentiality, professional liabilities insurance is built to cover a range of risks.
What’s covered?
- Claims for advice, design or certification errors, or libel, which lead to a financial loss for a third party.
For example:
- as a marketing consultant, you advise a client to increase their spend in a specific area, to attract more customers. The campaign is unsuccessful, however, leading to a proven loss
What isn’t covered?
- data breaches
- third party injuries or damage – public liability insurance is designed to cover this
- fines and penalties (including non-compensatory damages)
- dishonest and malicious acts
- services carried out or circumstances you were aware of before your professional liability insurance policy start date (also known as ‘retroactive’) aren’t covered as standard but may be available with some insurers
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
How much does professional liability insurance cost?
Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.
Prices start from £4.74 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £56.82 or less annually between 1st Jan – 31st May 2024. Equivalent to £4.74 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 76% of customers have a £1 million limit and 24% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.
Example professional liability insurance quotes, real prices
£13.45 /month
£114.50 /year
A self-employed interior designer who helps transform commercial spaces
- 2-3 years’ experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Nottingham
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Professional indemnity
£50,000
£70.90 /month
£630.26 /year
A small accountancy firm that contracts for small and medium-sized businesses
- 5+ years’ experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Aberdeen
Public liability
£5,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Professional indemnity
£100,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 14/09/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.
What kind of excess should I expect?
An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.
Insurance cover | Lowest excess | Highest excess |
|---|---|---|
Public liability | £100 | £2500 |
Employers’ liability | No excess | No excess |
Tools | £60 | £500 |
Stock | £100 | £500 |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.
Looking for something else?
Depending on your set-up, clients and business type, these expert covers might be helpful too:
- Business insurance
- Public liability insurance
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Employers liability insurance
- Business legal protection insurance
- Contract works insurance
- Limited company insurance
- Sole trader insurance
- Tools insurance
When you run a quote you can select from a range of covers.
How it works
Pick what goes into your policy
Only pay for what you need
Get prices from a range of insurers
Choose the best fit for you
Buy online in minutes
Get your documents the same day
Direct to
insurer
Highstreet
broker
Compare policies from a range of trusted insurers
Buy online or over the phone in minutes
Talk to an expert
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
Call our team
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.
£51 million in claims paid out in 2023
83% of claims were settled 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.
Chosen by nearly 1 million small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then, with nearly 1 million customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
Professional liabilities insurance FAQ
Whether you’re new to buying insurance or you’ve been operating your business for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about professional liabilities insurance.
You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
Personal liability insurance is similar to public liability insurance and covers injury or damage compensation claims made against you by a third party. If you run an advisory business, professional liability covers things that could result in a financial loss for the people you work for.
Yes. Professional liability cover is another way of referring to professional indemnity insurance. They’re both often known as PLI and PI for short, and are designed to cover professional and advisory businesses like lawyers, accountants, and consultants against specific claims.
Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 0146 683 to update your policy before you take on this new work.
If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.
Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.
If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 0146 683. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.
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