Professional indemnity covers financial loss from your advice or work. Public liability covers injury to people and damage to their property. For health practitioners, PI (medical malpractice) can also respond to injury caused by treatment. Many contracts ask for both.
Source: https://piinsurance.com.au/pi-vs-public-liability/, fetched from the preview https://pi-react-4ee768.pages.dev/pi-vs-public-liability/ on 10 Nov 2026; site dated 3 Nov 2026. Preview wording, not yet broker-reviewed. General information, not advice.
Key points
- PI covers financial loss from your advice or work.
- Public liability covers injury to people and damage to property.
- Many contracts ask for both. Your contract usually decides.
Side by side
| Professional indemnity | Public liability | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Financial loss from your advice, design or service | Injury to people, damage to property |
| Example | Your report has an error and a client loses a contract | A client trips on your cable at their office |
| How claims count | Claims made during the policy | Events that happen during the policy |
| Injury | Usually not, but for health practitioners it can respond to injury caused by treatment | Yes, injury to people and damage to property |
| Limit | Set by your contract or regulator, for example $1m to $5m | Set by your contract or venue, for example $10m to $20m |
Do I need both?
If you visit clients, work on their sites or have people at your premises, public liability may be relevant, and many contracts ask for it. If you only give advice remotely, PI may be the one that matters. Your contract usually decides.
Common questions
Does public liability cover bad advice?
No. Financial loss from advice is covered by professional indemnity.
Can I buy both together?
Yes. Many insurers offer a combined PI and public liability policy.