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Public liability insurance, protecting you and your business should a member of the public sue after an injury due to your negligence.
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It’s fair to say that if you interact with the public on a daily basis or your business activities are performed in a public area, you’ll need this cover - but what is public liability insurance? This means different things for different businesses. It could mean protecting your business against a potential claim from a client, a customer or another member of the public in the wrong place at the wrong time. We provide cover for a range of business types including: tradesmen, shops, mobile businesses, health and beauty professionals, those who work with animals, delivery and removals - and many more. Unfortunately, even we have our limits and there are some businesses we can’t cover. Tell us all about your business and we’ll do our best to find you suitable cover.
Each business is different but for many, public liability insurance is essential. For smaller businesses who work on smaller projects or with less interaction with the public, we can offer lower, more suitable levels of cover for a lower premium. However, if your circumstances merit higher limits, then ask us. Typically our clients request cover from between £1m and £10m for any one event, but higher limits are available if required. If you’re unsure how much cover you need, tell one of our knowledgeable advisers about your business and they’ll be able to help you get the right cover.
If you offer a range of trade skills, you can add your multiple business activities or services to a single policy. If your different trades are under the same business name, you can tailor your policy to cover you for any work you do for your customers. However if you think one of your services may not be included on your policy, give us a call and we’ll see if we can add it.
Public liability insurance is not generally brought in isolation. This is because most businesses require some other cover including employers' liability, product liability or contents cover. We offer a range of business insurance covers so can tailor your policy to suit your business' requirements.
If and when you need to make a claim, we'll send the details to the insurer to get your claim resolved as quickly as possible.
If there are any complications with your claim, we’ll follow this up with the insurer and keep you updated.
Give us a call and we’ll help settle your claim
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Towergate can offer public liability insurance policies with cover from £1 million up to £10 million or higher. The amount you need will depend on several aspects:
When you are contracting with companies, please check with them to find out if there is a minimum amount of public liability insurance required.
Public liability insurance is a legal requirement in the UK if you employ staff.
The cost of your public liability insurance will depend on what your business is and therefore how much cover you require. This will determine the level of risk for the insurer.
Your public liability insurance cost will depend on a number of factors, including:
Towergate offer a range of public liability insurance policies with cover starting from as little as £8.19 per month*. We offer a range of levels of cover up to £10 million to suit all sizes of businesses – whether large or small - and budgets that are high or cheap.
Get a public liability insurance quote today to see how much your policy would be.
Public liability insurance is not usually a legal requirement like employer’s liability insurance, but there aren’t many businesses that can safely operate without this protection. Despite all the precautions under the sun, accidents can and will happen, and being vulnerable to a law suit can spell disaster for a growing business. As our public liability insurance can cover up to £10 million, the importance of having this protection is clear.
Given this, it is likely other organisations will not work with you unless you have public liability insurance, and local authorities often require businesses in their area to have the cover in place before trading.
While public liability insurance is therefore not required by law, it is likely to be necessary for your business to operate successfully.
Yes, public liability insurance is tax deductible when calculating taxable profit, as an 'allowable expense' (an expense you can deduct when calculating taxable profit for your tax return). It is included in HMRC’s definition of allowable expenses.
When you buy your public liability insurance, be sure to keep your receipt and your policy documents safe so that you can show your tax calculations if your business is checked by HMRC. Also, if you have an accountant that does your tax return, you will need these documents to show them the cost of your cover so they can calculate it correctly and ensure your public liability insurance is tax deductible.
While public liability insurance provides cover against claims from members of the public, employers' liability insurance protects against claims from employees. Businesses will typically have bother covers.
As soon as you become aware of a claim or potential claim being made against you for injury or damage:
We recommend that you:
If you accept liability before referral to your insurers then you could prejudice your and your insurers' ability to deal with any claim made against you.
To help you spread the cost of your premiums, we offer a quick and easy direct debit scheme for spreading payment over ten months. Please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page to find out more.
*10 monthly instalments, includes 12% additional interest and 12% Insurance Premium Tax. Cover includes £1 million public liability, one manual principle partner proprietor or director, and no claims. Covers subject to underwriter acceptance; exclude Northern Ireland. Price from as little as £81.90 a year applies to carpenter work only working on on residential and small commercial properties excluding the use of fixed woodworking machinery. Details correct as of 1 June 2020