What’s the difference between public liability and professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is designed to cover a range of issues that may arise from the information, skills and services you or your business provides:

• Professional negligence – this is also known as ‘breach of duty of care’. Professional indemnity insurance covers you in the event that a client suffers loss or damage because of faulty advice.
• Defamation – to defame someone is to make a false statement or do something that harms their reputation or casts their character in a bad light. Journalists, authors, TV reporters and even some celebrities, such as stand-up comedians, are most at risk from this type of claim. 
• Breach of confidence – covers you in the event that a client or customer claims they have suffered loss or damage because you have shared their confidential information without their permission.
• Breach of copyright – covers you from claims that state you have utilised copyright protected intellectual property (IP) – typically manuscripts, plans, drawings, patents, etc – without the original author’s permission. Note that you do not have to have re-used the IP for financial gain to be at risk. 
• Lost or damaged documents – protects you in the event that a client or customer claims they have suffered financial or other loss because you have lost or damaged their important documents through accident or lack of care.
• Employee cover – covers your business from liability claims made because of fraud or dishonesty by your employees or any sub-contractors, consultants and freelancers you have hired to work on a project.