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Do I need Public Liability Insurance and is it a Legal Requirement?

Rhino Trade Insurance 31 January 2022

When it comes down to your Trade Insurance, you must possess the correct level of cover needed for your business. On top of that, understanding what cover options are legally required and which come highly recommended could help you should you ever face a claim. 

At Rhino Trade Insurance, we have designed tailormade policies for almost all trades. Whether you are a hardworking plumber, dedicated electrician or steadfast bricklayer, we have come up with the best levels of cover at the most affordable prices. But what insurance do you need? Is Public Liability Insurance compulsory? We answer all your questions in our blog below!

What is Public Liability Insurance for tradesman?

Public Liability Insurance in the UK is not a legal requirement. Unlike its sister product - Employers Liability Insurance - which is needed by law if you have staff working for you on-site. With that said, don’t think that’s the definitive answer and leave right away. Public Liability is a commodity for any trade business, and the small expense for this type of policy could save you big time should your work go south!

So what is Public Liability Insurance, you ask? This insurance provides cover up to your chosen level of indemnity should you or your business face a claim due to accidental injury, death or damage to a customers property caused by your work. If a claim were made against you, your Public Liability Insurance would cover you of any compensation you need to pay, medical bills incurred, and any court fees whilst you were being defended. 

Although Public Liability Insurance isn’t mandatory in the UK, it’s a no-brainer for any fledging trade business that wants financial security. So why isn’t it a legal requirement, we hear you ask?

Is Public Liability Insurance a legal requirement in the UK?

As we stated earlier, Public Liability Insurance isn’t compulsory here in the UK - though as a self-employed tradesman or business owner - your best bet would be to get covered if you haven’t already done so. 

You could be the most astute tradesperson in the land, but everyone is bound to make a mistake now and then. The problem being? Whether that mistake ends up costing you a small fortune. From a purely financial standpoint, having Public Liability Insurance makes so much sense. With Rhino Trade Insurance, our cheapest level of cover starts at just £6.07 a month. 

In an industry that’s full of risks, hazards and pitfalls, taking out a Public Liability policy makes all the more sense - mainly if you deal with various third parties and members of the public. 

Which tradesman Insurance Policies are a legal requirement in the UK?

Tradesmen and women in the UK can cover various aspects of their professional life, whether that’s insurance for your tools, protection for your income or a policy for your work on a construction site. Every trade business needs, if they employ staff or have people working on a job is Employee’s Liability Insurance. This bad boy has been designed to get you out of a pickle if something goes wrong with a staff member whilst working for you. 

You are required by law to hold this form of insurance in the UK. It protects self-employed tradespeople if one of your employees dies or is injured whilst performing duties for your business and makes a claim against you.

What does Public Liability Insurance cover you for?

Public Liability Insurance has many benefits for your business and covers you for any accidental damage or injury caused to a third party whilst on-site. To get a better idea of what it covers you for, we have listed a handful of examples below relating to different tradespeople: 

  1. Plumber – A plumber fits a pipe incorrectly, leading to a flood causing water damage in a customer’s home. 
  2. Electrician – A sparky is rewiring an entire home for a client and leaves one part of the setup faulty. This wiring leads to a fire in the house. 
  3. Builder – A builder working on a home extension doesn’t use the right equipment for a newly built wall which ends up falling over. This causes damage to the brickwork of the current building deeming the site unsafe.

What trades need Public Liability Insurance?

Unless you live on a remote island, every trade business will come into contact with members of the public, suppliers, customers or other tradespeople. For this reason, you will come into contact with various risks daily. That’s why the insurance experts at Rhino have designed tailormade cover options for almost all trades. Here you can find some of the trades we offer Public Liability Insurance for:

Why should you purchase Public Liability Insurance?

Our protection offers indemnity cover from £1 million, £2 million and £5million. An added cherry on the cake is that all our cover options have a standard £500 excess. The only reason for the excess to rise is if your claim is the direct result of the use of heat where the standard excess increases to £1000.  

Why Choose Rhino Trade Insurance

Apart from all of the points already mentioned in this post, Rhino Trade Insurance is one of the market-leading trade insurance companies. Why are we one of the best? Because we offer a fantastic Public Liability Insurance packages for tradesmen and women. 

What’s more, we have thousands of positive reviews from real-life tradesmen and women from all over the UK. Take a look at why we consider ourselves to be one of the best in the Trade Insurance game here.

We are based in the UK, so if you ever need to ask any questions, you can call us knowing you’ll get one of our lovely team based in Leicester. Finally, if you are keen on checking out how much Public Liability Insurance would cost for you, why not check out our super quick and easy quote form now. It will take you less than 60 seconds. 


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