Public
Liability
Insurance

Contrary to what you might sometimes read, Public Liability IS mandatory if you own/operate a riding establishment, a nuclear site and/or own or keep dangerous animals.

Otherwise, no it’s not compulsory. It’s just a really sensible type of insurance to purchase.

Public Liability insurance is often extended to include Products Liability insurance which covers your legal liability for injuries/damage caused by a product you supply.

It is sometimes included automatically, but sometimes has to be separately requested (and paid for).

Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, if you are importing goods from outside of the EU you are deemed by law to be the producer/manufacturer of those goods and your insurance program needs to reflect that.

Yes. If the contract is with YOU then that is who will get sued if something goes wrong. You need to ensure your insurance policy covers the acts of sub-contractors, whether they are labour only or specialist sub-contractors.

Yes. Employers Liability is mandatory if you employ people, even on a cash or casual basis. Public Liability is optional and covers injury/illness to people (other than employees) and damage to their property.

The premium is linked to what you do. For example, for Public Liability purposes, an Accountant is a low risk/low premium trade whereas a Scaffolding Contractor is a far higher risk because of the work they do and the potential exposure for a big incident. The premium is often linked to claims too, and if you were to have a claim, the insurers could have to pay out millions of pounds in compensation. Imagine if whatever you did injured a child. The care costs alone could be in the millions, let alone all the legal costs.

The prudent answer is as much as you can afford. Our minimum level of cover is now £1 million, but most business buy £2, £5 or £10 Million of cover. Beware if tendering for a large contract, for example with an airport or council, as they will often insist you produce proof of £20 or £50 Million of Public Liability insurance.

There are so many factors which go into the premium calculation. For example, what is your trade/profession? How many staff have you got? What do they do? What is your turnover? Have you full Health & Safety records? Had any claims? Do you ever use sub-contractors?