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Public liability cost · Updated September 2026
In 2026 one customer in ten paid £63 to £64.78 a year or less for public liability (AXA and Simply Business’s own footnoted figures) and half of Compare the Market’s customers were quoted under £79.17; from there the premium rises with trade, turnover, employees, limit, heat, height and claims.
Part of: Commercial insurance at Apex
In short
Public liability insurance is advertised from about £5 a month. The footnoted figures behind those prices, checked on 6 September 2026, are tenth-percentile ones: 10% of AXA’s customers paid £63 a year or less (April to June 2026) and 10% of Simply Business’s paid £64.78 or less (January to June 2026, 85% of them at a £1 million limit); Compare the Market says 51% of its customers were quoted under £79.17 (April to June 2026). MoneySuperMarket’s trade medians from Simply Business data run from £78.61 for a plasterer to £305.10 for a roofer (2024 purchases). The premium moves with trade, turnover, employees (employers’ liability is compulsory from the first one), the limit a contract demands, heat, height and claims. Apex, an independent Bristol broker established in 2009 with access to over 30 markets, reads the contract before it quotes.
£63 a year
AXA — 10% of its customers paid this or less, April to June 2026£64.78 a year
Simply Business — 10% of its public liability customers paid this or less, January to June 2026 (up to £2m)£5.20 a month
Hiscox — an average of all public liability policies sold to at least 10% of its customer base, April 2025 to April 2026under £79.17
Compare the Market — 51% of its customers were quoted less than this for public liability, April to June 2026Public liability is the class where the published numbers are most informative, because the direct writers and comparison sites footnote them. The AXA and Simply Business figures are tenth-percentile prices: one customer in ten paid that or less, nine in ten paid more. Hiscox describes its figure as an average of policies sold to at least 10% of its customer base, and Compare the Market’s figure is a median. All were checked on 6 September 2026.
| Provider | Published figure | Stated basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simply Business | from £5.40 a month; £64.78 a year | “up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £64.78 or less annually between 1st Jan – 30th Jun 2026 … 85% of customers have a £1 million limit and 15% £2 million” | simplybusiness.co.uk |
| AXA | £63 a year; from £6 a month | “10% of our customers paid this or less between April and June 2026” (monthly figure: ten instalments after a deposit, with interest); AXA’s page title says £5.00 a month, its page body £6 | axa.co.uk |
| Hiscox | from £5.20 a month | “an average of all public liability policies sold to at least 10% of our customer base between April 2025 and April 2026” | hiscox.co.uk |
| Compare the Market | 51% quoted under £79.17 a year (£6.60 a month) | “51% of our customers were quoted less than £79.17 for their public liability business insurance in April-June 2026”; reviewed 28 August 2026 | comparethemarket.com |
| MoneySuperMarket | from £5.05 a month | “10% of customers paid £5.05 or less monthly … between 1st May – 31st Jul 2026 … up to £2 million”, Simply Business data; reviewed 24 August 2026 | moneysupermarket.com |
Unless a provider says otherwise, check whether its figure includes Insurance Premium Tax at 12%; any premium you are quoted will carry it. Simply Business’s note that 85% of its public liability customers hold a £1 million limit tells you what most of its customers buy: the lowest limit. The lowest-paying tenth of them are likely to be low-risk trades with no employees.
Simply Business publishes two example quotes from its own system, and MoneySuperMarket publishes trade medians from Simply Business data. They are reproduced with their bases; none is an Apex figure.
| Trade | Figure | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic cleaner, Manchester | £86.49 a year (£7.21 a month) | Simply Business example: sole trader, no employees, under a year’s experience, £1 million public liability only, quote created 12 May 2026 | simplybusiness.co.uk |
| Barber renting a chair, Edinburgh | £100.08 a year (£11.46 a month) | Simply Business example: sole trader, no employees, 2–3 years’ experience, £1 million public liability plus £1,000 tools cover, 12 May 2026 | simplybusiness.co.uk |
| Plasterer | £78.61 a year | MoneySuperMarket: 51% of customers paid this or less for an annual policy with Simply Business; quotes purchased in 2024 | moneysupermarket.com |
| Painter and decorator | £87.54 a year | As above | moneysupermarket.com |
| Electrician | £88.30 a year | As above | moneysupermarket.com |
| Caterer | £135.66 a year | As above | moneysupermarket.com |
| Builder | £168.24 a year | “51% of customers paid this amount or less for an annual builders insurance policy with Simply Business. Figure based on annual quotes purchased in 2024” | moneysupermarket.com |
| Roofer | £305.10 a year | As above (roofers) | moneysupermarket.com |
Read the pattern rather than the pence: the medians rise with height, heat and the chance of damaging someone else’s property, and a plasterer’s median is a quarter of a roofer’s. They are 2024 purchases from one panel, at whatever limit each customer chose (mostly £1 million), for businesses small enough to buy online.
| Factor | Why it matters | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Trade and activities | The chance of injuring someone or damaging their property: a consultant visiting offices is rated differently from a roofer | Higher-hazard trades: higher |
| Turnover and wage-roll | The rating base for liability: more work means more exposure | Larger: higher |
| Employees | Public liability does not cover injury to your own staff. Employers’ liability is compulsory from your first employee under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969: at least £5 million, and most insurers offer £10 million (HSE guide HSE40, which notes a fine of up to £2,500 for any day without it) | Adding EL: higher, and required |
| Limit | £1m, £2m, £5m and £10m are the standard steps. Principal contractors set a minimum limit as a condition of appointment; Simply Business notes public-sector contracts may require £5m or £10m, and local authorities and utilities often specify £5m or £10m for highway work | Higher limit: higher, but not pro rata |
| Heat work | Blowtorches, welding, hot roofing and grinding are the classic fire claims; expect a hot-work warranty or a loading | Higher; conditions attached |
| Working at height | Falls and dropped objects; many online products cap the height they cover | Higher above a stated height; some products decline |
| Hazardous activities and locations | Demolition, asbestos, gas, railways, airports, petrochemical sites, care homes, schools | Higher; specialist markets |
| Claims history | Previous liability claims and their cause | Higher; disclosure required |
| Add-ons | Tools, contract works, hired-in plant, professional indemnity for design work, legal expenses | Each adds premium |
Every premium carries Insurance Premium Tax at 12% on top. Most of the from-prices above buy a £1 million limit for a low-hazard trade with no employees; a contractor with three staff, a £5 million contract requirement and hot work is buying a different policy at a different price.
Public liability is not a legal requirement, but it is a condition of many contracts, site inductions and trade-body memberships, and the first policy for anyone whose work touches the public or other people’s property:
The three triggers are the same as for any business cover: your work can injure someone or damage property; a client, site or council contract demands a stated limit; or a trade body or licensing scheme requires it.
Buying direct or through a comparison site is fine for a sole trader or small firm in a standard trade, with a £1m or £2m limit, no unusual activities, no claims and no contract saying otherwise. The published prices above are real and the products behind them are sound for that buyer. Note that the comparison-site journeys are largely one panel: MoneySuperMarket states it “has a commercial partnership with Simply Business” and its prices are Simply Business data (moneysupermarket.com).
Use a broker when a contract, framework or council demands £5 million or £10 million, an indemnity-to-principal clause, a specific wording or a named-party certificate; when your work involves heat, height beyond the online caps, demolition, asbestos or hazardous locations; when you employ people and need employers’ liability, tools, contract works and hired-in plant fitted together; when you design as well as build and need professional indemnity alongside; when you have had a claim or been declined; or when the online form will not accept your trade. Those are the cases where a policy bought on price fails at the certificate stage — wrong limit, excluded activity, a site that will not accept it — and the saving disappears. For a Bristol contractor’s view, see builders insurance in Bristol.
Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent insurance broker established in 2009 and based in Bristol, owned entirely by its directors and directly authorised by the FCA since 2016, placing professional indemnity insurance for professional firms, contractors and small businesses across the UK. It is one of the longest-established independently owned professional indemnity specialists in the UK, and it is not for sale: we have declined approaches to buy the firm. We are not tied to any single insurer or professional-body scheme, we do not run our own policy or underwriting, and we have no placement quotas. We have access to over 30 markets, including Lloyd’s syndicates via wholesale, and we usually return three or four competing quotes set out so you can compare them like for like. Every client has a named broker — the same person from first quote to renewal — and every claim notification gets director-level attention rather than a call-centre queue.
For public liability we read the contract before we quote, so that the limit, the indemnity-to-principal wording and the certificate match what the site or the council will accept, and we place employers’ liability, tools, contract works and any design professional indemnity with it so that one claim does not fall between two policies. Start with the commercial insurance quote page.
The published tenth-percentile prices on 6 September 2026 — what the lowest-paying one in ten customers, typically low-risk sole traders at a £1 million limit, paid or less — were £63 a year at AXA (April to June 2026) and £64.78 at Simply Business (January to June 2026); Compare the Market says half its customers were quoted under £79.17 (April to June 2026). Higher-hazard trades, higher limits and employees move the price up, plus Insurance Premium Tax at 12%.
No. Public liability is not compulsory by law for any trade. Employers’ liability is: the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires most employers to hold at least £5 million of cover, most insurers provide £10 million, and you can be fined up to £2,500 for any day you are without it (HSE40). Public liability becomes a practical requirement because contracts, site rules, councils, venues and trade bodies demand it.
For many sole traders in domestic work it is, and Simply Business says 85% of its public liability customers hold a £1 million limit. It is not enough when a contract says otherwise: principal contractors set minimum limits as a condition of appointment, and local authorities and utilities often require £5 million or £10 million for highway work. A single serious injury claim can also exceed £1 million.
Public liability covers your legal liability for injury to people who are not your employees, and damage to their property, arising from your work. Employers’ liability covers injury or illness to your own employees, including labour-only subcontractors in most trades, and is compulsory from the first person you employ. They are usually bought together, and the employers’ liability certificate must be displayed or made available to staff.
A shop policy is a package — public liability, stock, contents, glass, money and usually employers’ liability — so the public liability figures above are only one component. The premium follows stock value, location, security, footfall and staff numbers, and no provider we checked publishes a footnoted shop figure comparable to the public liability ones. A package quote needs those details rather than a trade and a limit.
No. Public liability covers your liability to other people; your own tools, equipment and materials need a tools or contractors’ all-risks section, usually with an overnight-in-vehicle condition. Simply Business’s barber example includes £1,000 of tools cover for that reason. Contract works cover, for the work in progress itself, is a separate section again. If you could not trade without your kit, price these alongside the liability.
It can, but many online products cap the height they insure and exclude or restrict heat work, and most policies attach a hot-work warranty (fire watch, extinguishers, a set period after finishing). Declare both accurately: a claim after a blowtorch fire on a policy that excluded heat work is not paid. Roofers, scaffolders and heating engineers are the trades most exposed to this, and are often placed through a broker for that reason.
Yes, in most cases. A single settled claim in a hazardous trade is ordinary; insurers want the cause, the amount and what you changed. Several claims, an open large claim or a claim involving a breached condition narrow the market, and an online form may decline you automatically. That is a broker case: the risk is presented in writing, with the remedial steps, to insurers that underwrite individually rather than by tick-box.
Public liability is rated on a trade or activity, so you need to describe what you do, but you do not need a limited company or a registered business. Sole traders, freelancers, part-timers and people doing occasional paid work can all buy it. Volunteers and hobbyists are often covered through the organisation or club they work with, which should hold its own liability policy.
Public liability responds to physical outcomes: someone is hurt or their property is damaged because of your work. Professional indemnity responds to financial loss caused by your advice, design or professional service, with no physical damage needed. A builder who also designs needs both; a consultant who only visits offices needs professional indemnity first and a small public liability limit alongside. Our comparison page sets the two out in detail.
Tell us your trade, your turnover, your staff and what your contracts ask for, and a named broker will place the cover to fit. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a liability quote Start a commercial proposalApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms. Every premium figure on it is a third party’s own published figure, reproduced with the basis and date that provider states; none is an Apex quote or a typical price, and Apex holds no placement data for this class.
