Public Liability Insurance is a specific type of insurance which protects a business from claims for damages made by the public with regard to personal injury, and other possible harmful events which the business could be deemed responsible for. Public Liability Insurance is available to cover both the businesses own premises, and to cover site visits to property owned by a third party. For self-employed people who work at home, then Public Liability Insurance is available to cover their home, which would be construed as their workplace.

Who needs Public Liability Insurance?
Any business which either accommodates members of the public as customers upon their premises, or provides a service which involves visiting homes and other properties owned by members of the public, will need to make sure that they have adequate public liability cover. In some situations, Public Liability Insurance may be a legal requirement.

For some small businesses, especially tradesmen, then the need for adequate Public Liability Insurance becomes much higher. Consider any of the construction trades such as supplying and erecting scaffolding, it is very easy to see how a member of the public could be injured during the plying of said trade. Any business which presents a measurable risk to the public should definitely make sure they have a good level of Public Liability Insurance cover.

For small, one man operations which provide services to other small businesses, then Public Liability Insurance may not be required. Or if it is, then a lower level of cover can be arranged.

Things to look out for when procuring Public Liability
The main thing which needs to be checked for when a small business is arranging Public Liability Insurance is that the product they select fits their operational parameters. For example, a small construction company which is forced to use public roads and pathways for access to the properties they are working on, would find a Public Liability Insurance policy which excludes accidents which happen outside of their premises of work to be useless.

Another area which can be problematic is evaluating the level of cover required. For some small business that could, in worst case scenario cause loss of life to a member of the public, then the amount of cover would need to be significant.
Public Liability Insurance is often paired with Employers Liability Insurance, and if this is the intent of your business, then it would be advisable to purchase compatible insurance products from the same provider, to ensure that overall of cover is minimal and that all gaps in cover are filled.