Comprehensive public liability insurance cover for less than £55 per year
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Compare QuotesGet a quick quote to protect you, your business and the general public from as little as £55. Five covers come as standard, and your documents are ready online as soon as you buy.
Public liability insurance is a type of business insurance that covers you if a customer, supplier or member of the public is injured, or their property is damaged, because of your work. That could be a client tripping over your tools or building materials, or a passer-by’s car getting damaged while you’re on a job.
It’s a form of third-party liability cover. If someone makes a claim against you, your policy covers the legal fees and compensation claims that follow. With Tradesman Saver, that cover applies to accidents on your premises, on site and off site. It’s why public liability sits at the heart of every policy we sell.
Public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, but most tradespeople and small business owners treat it as essential, as a way to cover the cost of legal fees and compensation if something goes wrong. If your work puts you in contact with the public, whether that’s on a client’s site or with visitors at your own premises, accidents are always possible. If you don’t have public liability insurance, you’d have to pay the legal costs and compensation yourself if someone is injured, and a single claim can cost far more than a year’s premium.
Some clients will also ask you to have cover in place before you start work. The right insurance can help you win those jobs, particularly bigger commercial contracts.
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Trusted for over 40 years We’ve been providing insurance to businesses since 1984
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Our Tradesman Saver Insurance (Covea) has been independently rated 5 Stars by Defaqto – the highest possible rating, awarded to excellent products with a comprehensive range of features and benefits.
Includes four more Tradesman Saver covers as standard
Our liability insurance cover includes:
Our standard public liability policy comes with four other covers at no extra cost:
Products liability cover protects you if a product you’ve sold, supplied or installed for a third party causes injury or damage.
We cover financial losses suffered by a third party that weren’t directly caused by an accident. So if another business claims it lost money because of your actions, the policy can meet those costs.
Accidental death insurance protects your business if the worst happens to you or your staff.
Every policy includes up to £250,000 of legal expenses cover, plus a 24-hour legal helpline and online legal resources for day-to-day questions.
Get your public liability quote online and see the price for your trade in minutes.
Our standard cover level is £1 million, which is the most the policy will pay out for a single claim. You can increase it to £2 million, £5 million or £10 million when you get your quote.
The right cover limit depends on the work you do. Think about how much damage your tools and materials could cause, how safe your usual work environment is, and what a serious injury claim could cost. Clients often set the level of cover for you. Certain commercial clients and local authorities typically ask for £5 million cover, so it’s worth checking before you quote for a job. If you need more than that to meet your insurance needs, contact us and we’ll arrange appropriate cover.
Compare Quotes
£54.88 / year A bricklayer working on domestic and small commercial properties less than 10 metres in height, including new builds, alterations and repairs
£47.30 / month £527.52 / year A carpentry and joinery business working on all property types
The above quote examples were taken from our online system on 06/11/25 and include insurance premium tax but exclude our £10 admin charge. These are real quotes but your own personal quote will vary dependent upon your circumstances and the level of cover you require.
When you consider insurance of any kind, it’s important to know about “excess”. Essentially, this is what you’ll pay out of pocket before the insurance begins to cover the rest of your claim. You can often decide how much you want your excess to be.
Typically, the higher your excess, your actual policy cost will be lower. However, it’s important you find the right balance for you and your business.
Detailed in the table are the standard excesses under a Tradesman Saver policy but you should check your own quotation to see exactly what excesses apply to your policy as these may vary dependent upon the type of work you do.
| Insurance cover | Excess |
|---|---|
| Public Liability | £250 |
| Products Liability | £250 |
| Employers Liability | No Excess |
| Financial Loss | 10% of claim value(£2,500 minimum) |
| Professional Indemnity | £250 |
| Contract Works | £250(£500 Theft/Malicious Damage) |
| Tools / Equipment | £100(£250 Unattended vehicle) |
| Legal Expenses | No Excess |
Public liability insurance covers third-party injury or property damage caused by your work. It doesn’t cover everything, so it’s worth knowing the limits before you buy:
Your policy documents, including the IPID and policy wording, set out the full list of exclusions and limits, so check them before you buy.
* Total number of live policies as of 31/10/2025
Cover with Tradesman Saver starts from £55 a year. The cost of your cover depends on:
The four extra covers are included in that price as standard, and you can compare public liability insurance quotes for different cover levels online before you buy. We’re not on comparison sites, so you can save by coming direct to us.
Most public liability policies carry an excess: the amount you pay towards a claim before your insurance covers the rest. You can often choose how much you want it to be. A higher excess usually means a lower premium, so it’s worth finding the right balance for your business.
The table shows the standard excesses under a Tradesman Saver policy. Check your own quotation to see exactly which excesses apply, as they can vary with the type of work you do.
Insurers work out the cost of public liability cover from how likely you are to make a claim and how much a claim could cost. So the more risk your business carries, the higher your premium is likely to be.
If you or your employees work in high-risk locations, or a mistake on the job could cause serious damage, expect to pay more. A plumbing and heating engineer is a good example: a leak from a badly fitted radiator can mean very large repair or replacement costs in a customer’s home.
Lower-risk trades, such as painters and decorators or carpenters, will typically pay less.
Here are some situations where accidental injury or damage could lead to a claim, and where public liability cover pays the compensation costs:
Our team recently helped resolve a claim from a member of the public who tripped and fell over materials a client had left on the pavement outside a construction site.
From only£55per year 
From only£55per year 
From only£55per year Not quite. Public liability covers claims from members of the public for injury or property damage caused by your business activities. Business liability insurance is usually used as a broader term for a group of liability policies, which can include public liability, products liability and employers’ liability. The two terms often get used interchangeably, so check exactly which covers a quote includes.
Yes. Every Tradesman Saver business insurance policy provides cover for public liability as standard, along with financial loss, products liability, legal expenses and accidental death cover. You’ll find the details in the cover section above.
If you prefer, we can also give you public liability quotes on their own, separate from other insurance policies.
Public liability is for claims from members of the public, while employers liability insurance is for claims made by your employees. If a member of staff is injured or falls ill because of their work, employers’ liability is the policy that responds.
Employers liability is a legal requirement for most businesses with employees who aren’t directly related to the owner. If you’re not sure whether it applies to your business, get in touch with our team and we’ll help you check.
Even if you work from home, public liability is a sensible option if customers or members of the public come to your property, or you visit them at their premises. Anything from a spillage in the kitchen to an uneven step on your staircase could cause an injury or property damage.
Most home insurance policies won’t cover business-related claims, and even if yours does, the protection may not be enough. Public liability insurance can protect you from those costs, so you won’t face them on your own.
PL insurance can be tax deductible. For a small business or sole trader, it can count as an allowable business expense, which means you could offset some of the cost against your taxable profits.
Your accountant is the best person to confirm how it applies to you. You can also call the legal helpline included with your policy, and the details are in your policy booklet.
Yes, in most cases. A self-employed tradesperson faces the same risks as any other business owner, and a claim against a sole trader can come straight out of your own pocket. You can arrange public liability for the self-employed online, with the same five covers as standard.
You’re only fully protected if your insurance covers each trade you work in. With Tradesman Saver, you can select up to three trades or occupations on our online quote form. If you need more than that, contact us and we can arrange a bespoke policy. It’s worth reading how cover for a secondary trade works before you buy.
With Tradesman Saver, you don’t need to choose. Products liability is included as standard with every public liability policy, at the same limit. It covers injury or damage caused by something you’ve sold, supplied or installed, which matters for trades that fit parts, fixtures or materials as well as providing a service.
Yes. You’re covered whether you’re working on site, off site or at your own business premises. Cover only applies where you’re legally liable for injury or damage arising from your business activities, so if you’re unsure whether a particular activity is covered, check your policy wording or ask our team.
Yes. You can pay annually, or spread the cost of your cover in monthly instalments to help with cashflow. Paying monthly can cost more overall than paying for the year up front, so check both prices on your quote before you choose.
Your policy starts from the date you select when you buy, so you can arrange it the same day a client asks for proof. Your quote, purchase and documents are all online, and you can download your policy documents from our secure portal straight away to show a client.
You can report a claim through our online claims form. Our claims team reviews the details, passes them to your insurer and contacts you to talk through the next steps. It helps to have your policy number and a clear account of what happened, when and who was involved.
We don’t provide health insurance, but we do offer personal accident insurance for tradespeople, as well as accidental death cover. That means, in most cases, we can provide compensation if you’re injured at work.
Tradesman Saver offers public liability insurance from £55 a year, with four more covers included as standard to protect your business. Choose your cover level, pick the date your cover starts and manage everything online. Please check the policy wording and IPID for full details, including limits and exclusions.
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From only£55per year 
From only£55per year From only£55per year 
From only£55per year 
