Public Liability Insurance
A guide to arranging public liability and employers liability for your business
Get indemnity™ public liability insurance offers protection against costly compensation claims and legal costs
What capacity do you work with to provide public liability insurance quotes?
Compare public liability insurance cost from the wholesale market from a wide range of competing insurers. Public liability insurance quotes start at £88 annually or £7.33 monthly. Below we offer some background on the importance of the cover and explain how the insurance works.
What is public liability insurance?
Public liability insurance (otherwise known as general liability insurance) will protect against claims arising from injury or property damage of persons other than your employees in the course of your business activities.
If your business interacts with members of the public (including any customers, suppliers, contractors) you have a duty of care to maintain a safe environment and should purchase public liability cover.
It is not a legal requirement to purchase, unlike employers' liability insurance. However, it is commonly purchased because it offers cost-effective protection against potential liabilities at a cost-effective premium.
What does public liability insurance cover?
Public liability insurance will cover claims from any person, excluding your employees, with whom you interact as part of your business. Including, but not limited to: customers, suppliers, contractors and other third persons. Personal injury claims can be very costly when you consider that compensation can include expenses incurred, loss of earnings, possible loss of future earnings, pain and suffering. Should you also consider other liability insurance covers?
Compensation
Awards made by courts or settlements agreed by the insurer will be available for injury or property damage of persons other than your employees.
Legal defence
Access to an experienced law firm to protect your interests and manage the claim is an important feature of a public liability policy.
Adjustable limits
Cover will start a £1 million and then increase depending upon your exposure. The most commonly purchased limits are £5m and £10m.
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Complete our digital onboarding process or give one of our experts a call to discuss your needsHow does public liability insurance work?
Working away
Public liability insurance will protect your company against compensation claims and legal costs if a third party suffers injury or property damage while on your premises. The majority of policies offer cover while working away from your premises. This is typically provided to accommodate a wide range of business activities, however sometimes the cover is removed.
Claims examples
Below are the most common public liability claim scenarios: slips, trips and falls, falling objects, inhalation injuries, burns or scalds, dangerous pathways, glass injuries, door injuries, lift / escalator accidents, hazardous objects, whiplash injuries, crashes and collisions, and exposures to hazardous chemicals.
How much cover?
The minimum public liability insurance typically offered is a £1 million limit. However, most businesses or organisations will typically purchase a minimum of £5 million or £10 million limit. Compensation awards for a severe injury have been increasing in the UK. Even working in an office environment, a slip, trip or fall could result in significant costs and damages provided to the claimant.
Do you need excess public liability cover?
Prudent businesses are increasingly purchasing an Excess of Loss policy to provide increased limits for public liability and employers liability and fleet insurance to protect against increased awards in UK courts.
If you work within construction or a commercial environment it is becoming increasingly common for businesses to purchase an Excess limit with £15m, £20m or £25m common practice.
If you undertake manual activities or you are perceived to work in an industry that is exposed to personal injury claims speak with one of our insurance brokers and we can benchmark how much companies of a similar size purchase liability insurance.
What does public liability insurance not cover?
There are a wide range of additional covers available, such as directors and officers liability insurance that should be taken into consideration. We recommend you speak with one of our account executives to discuss your needs.