Professional indemnity concerns claims connected with professional advice or services. Public liability concerns injury to members of the public or damage to their property connected with your business. Depending on your work, you may need to discuss both.
Two questions, two conversations
Start by asking what could go wrong in the work itself, then what could happen around the work. An allegation that your advice caused a client a financial loss is different from an allegation that your equipment damaged their premises.
The Association of British Insurers publishes separate guidance for professional indemnity and public liability. Neither should be read as the wording of a policy you are considering. The scope depends on the actual policy and your business activities.
Put your working week into examples
| Part of your work | Example question for your broker |
|---|---|
| Preparing campaign recommendations | How would this policy approach an allegation that my advice caused a financial loss? |
| Running an onsite client workshop | How is third-party injury during that workshop treated? |
| Taking equipment into a client’s office | What wording applies if I damage property there? |
| Working through another agency | Who needs to be insured under the contract, and does my arrangement fit? |
These examples are prompts rather than claims decisions. Describe the situation in your own words and let the broker explain which policy wording is relevant.
Working remotely does not answer every question
A remote freelancer may have few in-person meetings but still give advice, deliver work or manage accounts. Do not use your home-office location as a substitute for an activity review. Likewise, one annual event or occasional client visit is still worth mentioning.
Write down where you work, who visits, which premises you enter and whose equipment you use. Keep this separate from your list of professional services. That makes it easier to discuss each exposure without mixing up policy names.
Turn the contract into a checklist
If a client asks for insurance, copy the exact clause into a note. Record the requested policy type, limit, duration and evidence. Ask your broker to identify where the proposed documents match those requirements and where they do not.
For a UK business serving overseas clients, ask separately about the locations of the work and the courts in which a claim might be brought. Do not assume that “online work” makes every territory equivalent. Where you need advice on the contract’s meaning, consult an appropriate legal adviser.
Make the decision with the documents open
Compare the schedule, policy wording and endorsements together. Ask about important exclusions, the excess and what you must do when a problem is first raised. If an answer changes the cover you need, obtain revised documents before relying on it.
Use our quote review checklist to track unresolved points. A checked box should mean you have an answer you understand, not that a particular policy is automatically suitable.
Take a one-page meeting note
Before a broker call, write one paragraph about your professional output and another about your physical working environment. Add a third paragraph for anything that does not fit neatly into either category, such as access to customer information or client systems.
During the call, record the policy section discussed beside each paragraph. Leave an open question where the explanation is unclear. This prevents the conversation becoming a list of product names with no connection to your work.
After the call, compare the written proposal with the note. Ask about differences while the documents are still being prepared. The exercise helps you organise the discussion; it does not replace the broker’s assessment or turn a general example into an assurance of cover.
Sources & further reading
Sources consulted 2026-10-06. Examples and worksheets are original illustrations, not accounts of actual claims.