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

What is professional liability insurance?

Professional liability insurance (sometimes called PI) covers you if the advice, treatment or professional service you provide is alleged to be negligent, includes an error omission or amounts to a breach of your professional duty.

It’s there to help if someone says your work caused them a loss, typically financial loss, injury or illness, and decides to take legal action against you or your business.

Here are some potential scenarios:

• A client claims your massage treatment made an existing injury worse.
• A yoga student says your adjustments caused a knee injury which left them unable to work.
• A coaching client believes your advice harmed their business or mental wellbeing.

In these situations, professional liability insurance can help with legal defence costs and compensation you’re required to pay, subject to your policy’s terms, conditions and exclusions.

What is public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance is about accidents and injury that happen in connection with your business, but not specifically because of your professional advice or treatment.

It usually responds if a person is injured, or their property is damaged, and they blame your business.

Here are some potential scenarios:

• A client trips over your loose cables in your treatment room, injures their ankle, and needs time off work.
• A visitor slips on a wet studio floor, where there was no warning sign, and they suffer an injury.
• You accidentally spill oil on a client’s expensive bag or coat and it needs specialist cleaning or replacement.

In these sorts of circumstances, which are not directly linked to the treatment or service you provide, public liability insurance can help cover claims for injury or property damage as well as related legal costs, subject to the specific terms, conditions and exclusions of your policy.

Do I need professional liability insurance AND public liability insurance for my health and wellbeing business?

Many health and wellbeing professionals choose to have both:

• Professional liability for what you do and say in your role.
• Public liability for what happens around you, such as slips, trips and accidental damage.

If you’re renting a room, working in a clinic or running classes, venue owners and professional bodies often expect you to have both types of cover.

Whether you need one or both will depend on your specific activities and any requirements from venues, regulators or professional bodies.

Please take care to check the details of any policy you are considering. Not all policies are the same, even where the cover may appear similar at first glance. Some policies offer only Public Liability with a treatment risk extension, which may not cover allegations linked to professional advice. 

Understanding the difference helps you choose the right protection, so you can focus on supporting your clients, knowing you’ve taken sensible steps to help protect your business.

N.B. This article is for general information only and does not take into account your individual circumstances. It is not advice. Cover depends on the specific terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy you choose.

FP189 June 2026