Business insurance is designed to protect businesses when they suffer losses while carrying out their usual activities, and is particularly important if a business finds itself facing a claim for compensation. Specific business insurance cover features may include employers liability insurance, public liability insurance, and professional indemnity insurance.

Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business if negligence on your part causes injury to a third party or damage to their property. It covers the cost of compensation, damages, and any legal costs incurred by third parties in making a successful legal claim against you. As an example, if you installed some wiring that later caused a fire which damaged or destroyed a building, and it was later deemed that you were negligent, your contractors public liability insurance would pay the costs and compensation – up to the maximum level of cover (or limit of indemnity) indicated on your policy.

There’s no legal requirement to have public liability insurance in place, so it’s up to you to decide if you need it – though we’d recommend getting expert advice before deciding not to take it out. It’s fair to say that many businesses that interact with the general public – including tradesmen of most types – will typically take out public liability insurance.

The level of protection you take out depends on the type of risks you face. It’s really an individual decision based on the nature of each business – though it’s worth finding out what level of cover potential clients expect you to have. There may be a minimum requirement of cover required depending on the nature of the job – for example if it’s a commercial contract for a council they may require a higher level of cover compared to a domestic job. We offer public liability cover ranging from £1 million up to £10 million, depending on the insurer.

They are very different policies. In essence, employers liability protects against death or injury to employees whilst at work, while public liability protects against death or injury and damage to property, affecting everyone apart from employees, and which comes about as a result of your work.

Employers liability insurance protects you in the event you are held legally liable for accidental death or injury of your employees at work or in connection with your business. It also covers legal costs incurred by employees in making successful legal claims against you.

There are some exceptions, but if your business has at least one employee then the likelihood is you will need employers liability insurance. That’s because The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, made employers liability insurance cover of at least £5 million compulsory for any individual or company with employees. The exceptions include: - Limited companies where the owner is the only employee, and owns 50% or more of the issued shares. - Businesses that are not limited companies and only employ close family members

An employee is someone who works part-time or full-time under an employment contract.

Yes, the requirement for employers liability insurance extends to businesses using temporary or casual workers that are employed on a short-term contract and ad-hoc basis – whether they are clerical or manual workers.

That depends on whether you use “labour-only” or what’s known as “Bona Fide” sub-contractors. You’ll need employers liability insurance if you use labour-only sub-contractors – but Bona Fide sub-contractors are not treated as employees for insurance purposes.