Security public liability insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why is security guard insurance important?
Our policies focus on public liability insurance security industry professionals can treat as back-up. But we don’t stop there – claim costs for employee injuries and illness, laptop theft, and your legal fees can run into thousands of pounds, so the cover we provide is built to flex with your business, contracts, and risk profile.
- Security public liability insurance from £1 million to £5 million
- 24/7 claims helpline and UK-based contact centre
- pay monthly or annually, whatever works for your company
Insurance for security guards – what’s covered?
We’ll start with security public liability insurance, built to cover against third party injuries and property damage. Lots of security guards choose to add cover for their phone and laptop, if using them for work. If anyone’s working for you, employer’s liability insurance is usually required by law, carrying big fines if you’re not fully covered.
Public liability insurance
In case your security company causes an injury or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your security company.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs connected with your security company.
Public liability insurance
In case your security company causes an injury or property damage.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for security guards?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, caused by your security work
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities
- certain accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- you spill a drink in the reception area you’re working in and a visitor slips on it, falling and fracturing their hip
- while patrolling a building’s perimeter you knock over a shelving unit full of stock, causing significant damage
What you’ll need additional cover for
- your own failure to prevent a break-in, or to protect the property you’re contracted to
If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your security company.
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:
- one of your employees falls down some stairs in your business premises, and makes a claim against you for chronic back pain complications
- your employee is attacked while on duty and suffers a broken nose and concussion – they won’t be able to work for at least three weeks
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- theft of the equipment you use to operate, rather than portable trade tools
- loss of your equipment
- flood, fire, or accidental damage
For example:
- while visiting a client, the laptop you use to manage your business is stolen from their reception area
- a leak in your business premises damages your office furniture and electrical items, including a new security system – you need to replace everything as quickly as possible
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs connected with your security company.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs attributed to your security company
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes, and investigations you need help with
- includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help you protect your reputation as a trusted security professional
For example:
- you’re subject to a tax investigation, and need legal expenses cover to help pay for expert legal representation
- a client is refusing to pay your invoice, disputing their contract terms – you end up going to court and incurring costs over several months
Read more about legal expenses insurance
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 security guard 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 £3.19 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
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.
Example security guard insurance quotes, real prices
£9.98 /month
£79.82 /year
A self-employed bouncer who works for local pubs
- 1-2 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Nottingham
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Contents & business equipment
Not included
£ 192.67 /month
£1712.65 /year
A small security company who use guard dogs to patrol
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 4 employees
- Based in AB16 7LL
Public liability
£5,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Contents & business equipment
£10,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 03/03/2023). 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.
How it works
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How do I choose security insurance?
Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Does security guard insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
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 security guard 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 door supervisor insurance or alarm installer insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of 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.
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 security insurance 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.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
Example claim
Having security company insurance through Simply Business has saved industry professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Graham saved more than £7,200
Graham (not his real name) was working with his German Shepherd dog on a night shift – his dog ran at a passer by and their dog, biting their arm. The public liability insurance included in Graham’s security guard policy covered the accidental injury claim costs, and the legal expenses cover he’d added helped pay for court fees.
Insurance payout
£7,285
Covering the cost of injuries caused by an animal
Graham’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Graham’s policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
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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Security guard insurance FAQ
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about insurance for security guards. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
Public liability insurance is a popular cover for the security industry, as it can protect you from a claim if someone is injured or their property gets damaged because of your work. Lots of companies also choose to add business equipment cover for the essential kit they rely on.
In terms of legal requirements, you’ll usually need employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone – for example a temp you hire during the busy Christmas season or another security guard to share the load with. It’s almost always a legal non-negotiable, so don’t leave it out, or you could face fines of up to £2,500 a day for each employee.
This depends on your business, and which insurer is providing your cover. Prices start from £6.56 a month for our security company customers – we work this out by taking the highest price from the bottom 10 per cent of all our customers paying in monthly instalments (based on data from 1 July - 31 December 2020). Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
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 043 8527 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.
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.
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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