Public liability insurance

Public liability (PL) is a type of business insurance designed to cover compensation and legal defence costs. If a member of the public claims they have been injured because of your work, PL can help. The same applies if they claim you have damaged their property while working.   

This cover helps to shield your business against unforeseen costs. It applies whether the incident happens on your premises or when you or your staff are out and about.  

Even when you do everything right, accidents can happen. Any business can face compensation claims and related legal fees. You might be a freelance professional or a sole trader working with tools. You might own a small business or start-up. With the right cover, your business is protected.  

Product liability insurance is normally included in this coverage. This can help if you are subject to a claim relating to a product you supply, maintain or sell.  

Public liability insurance covers a wide range of out-of-the-blue events. It can give you the comfort of knowing your business is protected. Ensuring you get the right insurance can help you to plan for key risks.  

Public liability insurance can help if a client or member of the public takes legal action against your business. This may include anyone who doesn’t work for your business, such as a visitor or supplier. Claims may arise from injury to them or damage to their property. 

This includes claims relating to products your company supplied, distributed, modified or sold. Product liability can help to cover this and is normally part of your public liability insurance. 

Our public liability policy provides cover if:

• Someone is injured or becomes ill and blames it on you, your employees or your business activities
• There’s damage to a member of the public’s property because of your business
• A courier leaves a building you own in a hurry and slips on the stairs
• One of your employees causes damage to property at an off-site meeting
• A third party makes a claim relating to trespass, nuisance, false arrest or eviction
• You incur related representation costs, provided you seek our prior agreement to cover them
• You incur related costs linked to a breach of regulation
• You, your directors or employees attend court as a witness in connection with a claim - up to £10,000 compensation

• Injury to your employees or damage to your own property. For these, employers' liability insurance or business contents insurance may prove useful
• Costs related to recalling, removing, repairing, reconditioning or replacing a product you supplied
• Losses dependent on contractual terms, where you wouldn’t bear responsibility without these
• Claims related to any cyber-attack or transmission of a computer virus. Our cyber insurance could help in this case
• Professional advice you provide. For this, professional indemnity insurance could help
• Asbestos-related claims
• Deliberate or reckless acts you commit

Please refer to the policy documents for the full details of inclusions and exclusions of this cover. Policy documents are available when purchasing online. You can also contact Hiscox customer services team for more information.

Public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, but it's often considered an important option. 

If you work around members of the public, this cover can help to protect against related risks. It might be that your staff work off-site, you’re a tradesman, or customers visit your premises. Either way, injuries and property damage could land you in court. 

For instance, if you own an office, a passer-by could claim a falling sign injured them. Someone might slip on winter ice that wasn’t properly cleared.  

Visitors to your hair salon or shop might slip on a wet floor. Alternatively, you could break something while painting a staircase. 

Every trade comes with its own set of risks. Gardeners in busy parks and plumbers who work in homes can both face costly claims. Even if you’re a freelance wedding planner, meetings and events can come with hazards. 

Your clients may require you to hold public liability insurance as part of the contract. The more contact your business has with third parties, the more chance there is for a claim against you. 

Some companies need short-period public liability insurance for events. In this case, it’s best to enquire about special event insurance. This covers liabilities and event-specific risks. 

Insurance for public liability helps to cover you for legal fees and claims for compensation. It steps in if a client or member of the public claims against your business. 

If you’re a tradesperson, your work could cause damage to a client’s property. For example, say you’re a plumber and you do something that causes a burst pipe. Over time, the leak could rot floorboards. Public liability insurance could help. 

Another situation could involve a client injury. Say you’re an IT contractor and you visit a client’s premises to do a job. You’re working in a busy office, and your equipment is in the aisle. One of your client’s employees walks down the aisle and trips over your toolbox. 

If you’re a professional gardener, someone might collide with a loose fence panel while you’re mid-job. Some trades come with risks based on their specialism. These may include electrical risks. Still, anyone who works with people or other people’s property can face a claim. 

Whatever the case, the right insurance can provide support when you need it most. We can’t take away the headache of a claim, but we're here to help cover the costs.

This type of cover can help to shield freelancers, sole traders or small businesses. It offers protection against big pay-outs or legal bills. 

The value of the public liability cover you’ll need depends on the costs that could arise from problems. This can include any illness, injuries or damage that might occur because of the work you do.

If you host client meetings, annual cover makes sense. However, it’s also possible to buy a policy for just one day, which can be ideal for a one-off event such as a trade fair.

Working in a higher-risk field might mean you buy £10 million in cover. A hands-on trade or regular contact with people might put you in this category. In other cases, you might feel £5 million is enough.

Build one of our public liability insurance quotes online and we’ll help you choose the right policy for your needs. With our broad cover, you’ll be free to focus on running your business.