Public liability vs. employers' liability
What's the difference between public liability and employers' liability insurance?
The common thread between public liability and employers' liability insurance is that they’re both designed to cover claims for property damage and accidental bodily injury, illness, disease or even death as a result of your work. The difference between these two covers lies in who is making the claim.
Public liability insurance is designed to cover claims made against you by a third party — this could be a member of the public, ike a client, customer, courier or complete stranger who interacts with your business. Employers' liability insurance, on the other hand, is built to cover claims made against you by an employee.
Another key difference is that employers' liability is a legal requirement in the UK for most businesses that employ people, while public liability is not usually a legal requirement. Despite this, many businesses consider public liability an important tool to support them if they were to face compensation costs and legal fees if a claim were made against them.
What does public liability insurance cover?
Public liability insurance can provide cover for legal and compensation costs relating to claims made against your business for injury or property damage to a non-employee.
If your business causes an injury or property damage to a member of the public, public liability insurance is built to cover the resulting legal and compensation costs. This could include claims from clients, suppliers, contractors or anyone else, not employed by you.
An example of a public liability claim would be a customer who breaks their arm after tripping over some loose wires in your shop.
What does employers' liability cover?
Employers' liability insurance is designed to cover the legal and compensation costs associated with claims made by an employee for injury or property damage.
If an employee suffers an injury at work, or becomes ill as a result of your business, and they want to claim compensation, employers' liability insurance could cover this. The types of claims it covers vary, but can include:
- Accidental slips and trips
- Injuries from insufficient training
- Stress-related illnesses
An employers' liability insurance claim example could be an employee breaks their arm after tripping over some loose carpet in the workplace.
Are you legally required to have both employers' liability and public liability cover?
If you have staff — whether part-time, full-time, permanent, temporary, apprentices or volunteers — you may have a legal obligation to have employers’ liability insurance in the UK. This makes it an essential cover for most businesses.
Public liability insurance, however, isn't a legal requirement in the UK. That said, many businesses consider public liability insurance as essential to help them cover unexpected legal and compensation costs associated with a claim.
Additionally, some clients and trade associations may require you to have public liability insurance to work with them.
To learn more, find out if your business needs public liability or employers' liability insurance.
Can I buy public liability and employers' liability insurance together?
Yes, if you find you need both public liability and employers' liability insurance, you can buy both covers at the same time under one policy. Simply click ‘Start your quote’, select your industry and follow the steps to add the level of cover you need.
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
Find more information
Our insurance guides break down what each type of cover is, what they cover and the types of businesses that may need them.
What is public liability insurance?
Learn more about public liability as a cover and why you might need it for your business.
What is employers' liability insurance?
Find out more about the ins and outs of employers' liability cover and the types of businesses that might need it.