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What Public Liability covers

Accidents happen, and when one involves someone outside your business, you can be held legally responsible. Public Liability is what pays if a client, visitor or member of the public is injured, or has their property damaged, because of your work. It covers the compensation you owe and the cost of defending the claim, at your premises and anywhere else the job takes you, so a single accident never lands on the business.

Third-party injury

Compensation for accidental injury to a member of the public.

Property damage

Damage to a client's or third party's property.

Legal defence

Defence costs for covered claims.

On-site cover

At your premises and anywhere the job takes you.

Indemnity to principals

Extends to the clients and contractors you work for.

Prosecution defence

Health & safety and corporate manslaughter defence costs.

This is a summary of cover. See the FAQ for what's not covered.

Public Liability in the real world

A few everyday situations where the cover steps in.

A customer slips on a wet floor in your shop and is injured.

Their compensation claim and your legal defence costs are both covered, so a moment's bad luck on a busy shop floor doesn't turn into a payout you fund yourself.

You damage a client's property while working at their premises.

Cover responds to the repair or replacement costs you're liable for, plus the cost of settling or defending the claim.

A passer-by trips over your equipment on the pavement and is hurt.

Their injury claim is covered even though it happened away from your own premises, wherever your work takes you.

Built for businesses like yours

If your work brings you into contact with the public, clients, or their property, Public Liability is usually the first cover you'll want in place.

Tradespeople & contractorsShops & retailersCafés, pubs & restaurantsHairdressers & beautyMarket & event stallholdersCleaners & gardenersPersonal trainers & instructorsConsultants on client sites

What Public Liability gives you

Covers the costs you can't predict

A serious third-party claim can run into tens of thousands once legal costs are added. We pay the compensation and the defence, so it never lands on the business.

Meets what clients ask for

Many contracts, venues and landlords won't let you start work without it. A certificate of cover keeps you eligible to win the job.

Goes where you go

You're covered at your own premises and at any site you work on across the UK, whether that's on a customer's property or out in public.

Part of your package

Public Liability comes bundled in these packages, or build your own.

Starter

Freelancers and solo founders

Covers your liability and online risks, so an accident, a hack or a dispute can't stall your work.

Policies included in this package:

Builder

Growing teams with staff

Adds employer cover and legal protection as you take on staff or contractors.

Policies included in this package:

Scaler

Established teams with premises

Full liability, property and cyber cover for stock, equipment and high-value assets.

Policies included in this package:

The words explained

A quick guide to the insurance terms on this page.

Cover for claims made against you by third parties: clients, visitors and the public. It doesn't cover your own employees; that's Employers' Liability.

Anyone outside your business: a customer, a visitor, or a member of the public. It doesn't mean you or the people who work for you.

The most your policy will pay for a claim. Public Liability is commonly written at £1m, £2m or £5m.

The first part of a claim you pay yourself before the cover pays the rest.

The cost of investigating, defending or settling a claim, which the policy covers alongside any compensation.

Physical injury, illness or death suffered by a third party. It's one of the main things a Public Liability claim covers.

Questions, answered

No. Unlike Employers' Liability, it isn't required by law. But many clients, contracts and venues insist on it before they'll work with you, so in practice it's hard to operate without.

It depends on the work you do and what your clients ask for. Limits of £1m, £2m and £5m are common; some public-sector and larger contracts require £5m or more. We'll suggest a level when you get a quote.

No. Public Liability covers injury and damage to third parties. To protect your own equipment and stock, add Business Contents or All Risks.

Anyone who isn't you or your employee: a client, a visitor, a member of the public, or someone whose property you're working on. Claims from your own staff are covered by Employers' Liability instead.

Yes. Public Liability follows the work: it covers third-party injury or damage you cause at a client's premises, on location or at an event, not just at your own address. Some venues ask for a specific cover level before you book, so it's worth checking.

Public Liability handles third-party injury and damage. A few things sit outside it:

Damage to your own tools, equipment or stock. That's Business Contents.
Injury claims from your own employees. That's Employers' Liability.
Claims that your advice or designs cost a client money. That's Professional Indemnity.
Putting right faulty workmanship, or the cost of redoing your own work.

Get covered before you need it.

One application covers Public Liability alongside the other modules you need, and caremate™ returns your package and price in minutes. Sort it now, so the next bad day is a claim you make, not a bill you swallow.