Public liability insurance

Who needs public liability cover?

However careful you are in running your business, there’s always the possibility that an accident will happen. A claim against you could run into millions of pounds. Without insurance, a claim like this would almost certainly mean the end of your business.

You need public liability insurance if:

• members of the public visit your offices, shops,warehouses or other premises
• you work from home and members of the public visit you there
• you deal with members of the public outside your offices

Our public liability cover

Our business insurance policies all include public liability insurance, with the option of choosing either £2m or £5m cover. These policies also include products and employers' liability cover (see ‘Not to be confused with' below).

Examples

You run a florists. A customer slips on some spilled water and twists their ankle, damaging a tendon. They claim against you for damages.

You run an interior design business from an office. A customer visiting your office trips on some loose carpet and injures their back. They claim against you for damages.

You run a cleaning business. One of your employees leaves a tap running in a customer’s house and floods the kitchen. The customer makes a claim against you for damage to their property.

You run an antique shop. One of your employees damages a car parked in the street outside a customer’s house while delivering a wardrobe. The car’s owner claims against you for the damage done.

Not to be confused with

Employers' liability cover

This covers the costs of compensation and legal expenses should your employees become ill or injured at work due to your negligence. By law almost all employers must have employers’ liability cover of at least £5m. (Our business insurance policies give you £10m employers’ liability cover.)

Find out more about employers' liability cover

Products liability cover

If you supply a product and something goes wrong with it, you may be liable - even if you didn’t manufacture the product. Products liability insurance covers you for the costs of compensation and legal expenses.

Find out more about products liability cover

Legal expenses cover

Legal expenses insurance includes cover for compensation awards payable in employment disputes cases and claims relating to section 13 of the Data Protection Act but it isn’t a replacement for liability insurance – our public, product and employers' liability insurance will cover you against these costs.

Find out more about legal expenses cover

Important note!

The information on these website pages is for your general information only. Always check the wording in your insurance documents carefully to find out exactly what cover your policy provides, what the limits of the cover are and whether there are any exclusions or conditions.