Comparisons
Professional Indemnity vs Public Liability: what's the difference?
Two of the most commonly confused business insurance covers, and why many professional practices need both.
Key takeaways
- ✓Professional Indemnity covers financial loss caused by your advice, design or professional service; Public Liability covers third-party bodily injury or property damage
- ✓The two covers respond to fundamentally different triggers — a design error is a PI matter, a visitor tripping in your reception is a Public Liability matter
- ✓Many professional practices need both, since site visits, inspections and client-facing premises all create Public Liability exposure alongside pure advice risk
- ✓Holding only one when your business needs both leaves a real gap — check both, not just the one that feels most relevant to your title
What triggers each policy
A claim alleging that your advice, design, certification or professional service caused financial loss is a Professional Indemnity matter. A claim alleging physical injury to a person, or physical damage to property, caused by your business's operations or premises is a Public Liability matter.
Where professions typically need both
Architects, engineers and project managers conducting site inspections; veterinary practices with client and animal-owner premises exposure; and effectively any business with client-facing offices or regular site visits all carry meaningful Public Liability exposure alongside their PI risk. See our Public Liability product page for what that cover typically includes.
A worked example
An engineer's design error causing a structural defect is a PI claim. A subcontractor injured on a site the same engineer is inspecting, in the course of the same project, is a Public Liability matter — two distinct policies, potentially arising from work on the very same job.
Checking you're not accidentally relying on the wrong policy
Read your PI policy's exclusions (bodily injury and property damage are near-universally excluded) alongside your Public Liability policy's exclusions (professional advice or service claims are near-universally excluded there) to confirm nothing falls into the gap between the two.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Public Liability exposure is lower in that case, but rarely zero — client visits to your premises, deliveries and general occupier liability still apply.