Public Liability
Insurance

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Need a public liability insurance quote? Let the specialists at your local Coversure compare their markets to find you quality liability insurance protection. With cover limits from £1m to £10m, your local Coversure office can help you find the protection you need.

Public Liability
Insurance

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What Is Public Liability Insurance?

Public liability insurance – or PL insurance as it’s sometimes known – is a policy that protects you and your business from financial loss should someone be injured or their property damaged owing to your business’s activities. Claims can arise for several reasons, for example:

Someone tripping on a stray cable while visiting your office
You accidentally knock a pedestrian or cyclist down while driving on business
A tool falling from a scaffold and striking a member of the public’s car
Accidentally damaging someone’s property while making a delivery
Causing damage to a neighbouring property during building work
Destroying a fence while felling a tree

These are just some common causes of the thousands of public liability cases brought annually in the UK. According to a report by Aviva, the number of these claims has risen sharply over the past few years, meaning ensuring you have adequate protection in place is increasingly seen as being business critical.

What Level of Cover Do You Need?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question – it will depend on factors such as:

The size of your business
The type of work it does – a scaffolder working mainly on buildings in town centres is likely to need higher levels than a shop owner, for example
The size of the contracts your work on
Who you do work for
Where you work
Your claims history

If you work in the public sector – for charities, local or central government – there are often requirements for public liability insurance levels of £5-£10m. A good way of finding out much cover you need is to contact your local Coversure office. They’ll be able to advise you as to what you need and create a package of protection for you. When you speak to them, be sure to let them know the following details:

Whether you have any employees
Who do you work for, and whether they have any specified liability minimums
What sort of work do you do and if you have any particular working environments – above 10 metres in height or at sea, for example

Who Needs Public Liability Insurance?

If your business brings you into contact with members of the public, then having a PL policy in place is a wise move. While it’s not a legal requirement, some employers – local authorities, charities, and developers, for example – may make having it a contractual requirement. The following provides an indicative list of the kinds of professions that may need cover:

Businesses working in offices where clients/members of the public visit them
Tradesmen and builders
People who work at events, fairs, or markets
Publicans
Landlords – especially those with public or communal areas such as entrance halls in flats
Landscape gardeners and tree surgeons
Scaffolders and roofers
Shop owners
Café, takeaway, and restaurant owners
Couriers, delivery drivers, and businesses with company vehicles
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

If you’d like some independent advice on whether this type of cover is right for you, please get in touch with your local Coversure office. They’ll be happy to give you the help you need to keep you protected.

What does Public Liability Insurance cover?

Public liability insurance offers a package of protection that allows you to cover multiple risks on a single policy*. Depending on what you choose to include in your policy, you can be insured against:

Compensation claims – if a person is injured or their property is damaged by your business, and they decide to sue. If their claim is successful, you could be required to compensate them financially. If your business’s activities caused the accident, you’d be liable regardless of whether it took place on your premises, theirs, or at another location
Legal expenses – this helps cover the cost of any legal fees you might have to pay during a hearing. This includes lawyer’s fees
Cost of repairs – if someone’s property has been damaged because of your business’s activities – a garden wall has been demolished while you were doing some landscape gardening, for example – public liability insurance will cover the cost of repairing it
Medical fees – in the event of injury, reasonable medical expenses for rehabilitation and recovery would be considered

How Much Does Public Liability Insurance Cost?

That will depend on factors such as:

The size of your business,
The type of work you are doing, where and for whom
Your claims history

The best way to find out how much protection you need is to contact your local Coversure. They’ll be able to advise you as to what you need and create a package of Public Liability cover for you.

Public Liability Insurance FAQ

This is a complex cover area, so to help you get the protection you need, here is Coversure’s public liability insurance frequently asked questions. We hope they will be of use, but if you’d like some personalised independent advice, talk to your local Coversure office.

If your work brings you into contact with members of the public, then you’d be wise to have a policy in place. Some employers may insist on you having cover

No, but given the level of protection it affords you, it’s well worth taking out if you have any dealings with members of the public

That will depend on factors such as the size of your business, the type of work you are doing, where and for whom, and your claims history

Someone you are working for may ask for proof of your policy. Once you have taken out a policy with Coversure, we can provide you with the documentation you need to prove you have public liability insurance

No, but you can insure your tools and other equipment with our tools insurance. With this in place, if the tools of your trade – be it a chainsaw, a laptop, or a pair of scissors – are lost, stolen, or accidentally damaged, your policy can cover the cost of replacing them.

It doesn’t cover:

Accidents or injuries which happen to you
Damage to your property
Accidents that affect your employees or their possessions – that’s covered by employers’ liability insurance

Getting a quote is easy; contact your local Coversure office or start your public liability insurance quote today

Need a Public Liability Insurance quote?

If you’d like a Public Liability Insurance quote from Coversure, please contact your local Coversure office or start your quote here. Our independent brokers will search their markets to find you the right policy at the right price to keep your business protected.

Employers’ Liability

Product Liability

Professional Indemnity

* Policy information is correct at the time of writing. Policy details, limits, and exclusions are subject to insurer’ changes. When taking out a policy, your local Coversure office will be able to advise you of the specifics of your cover.

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Public Liability
Insurance

Independent service from your local insurance specialists

Public Liability
Insurance

Average Customer Rating:

Independent service rating based on 1156 reviews

What Is Public Liability Insurance?

What Level of Cover Do You Need?

Who Needs Public Liability Insurance?

What does Public Liability Insurance cover?

How Much Does Public Liability Insurance Cost?

Public Liability Insurance FAQ

Need a Public Liability Insurance quote?

Employers’ Liability

Product Liability

Professional Indemnity

Find the insurance that's right for you

What cover are you looking for?

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