Public liability insurance covers damage caused by a removals or delivery operator to property or third parties during the course of work. In a moving context, that means damage to the customer’s home (scratched walls, gouged door frames, damaged flooring) or to a neighbour’s property (a dropped sofa hitting a parked car, for example). It’s a separate policy from goods in transit insurance, which covers the items being moved.
What a typical removals public liability policy covers:
- Damage to the customer’s home. Scuffs and scrapes on walls, scratches on hardwood floors, dented architraves, broken bannisters.
- Damage to the destination property. Same list, at the new place.
- Damage to third-party property. A neighbour’s fence taken out by the van. A parked car hit by a dropped item.
- Injury to a third party. If the crew’s actions cause someone outside the household to be hurt (rare, but covered).
What it does not cover:
- Damage to the items being moved (that’s GIT’s job).
- Damage caused by the customer themselves during the move.
- Damage to the moving vehicle (that’s the van policy, see hire and reward insurance).
- Injuries to the crew (that’s the employer’s liability policy, separate again).
Coverage limits are usually quoted as a minimum per claim. £1 million is a common entry-level limit for small man-and-van operators. Full removalist firms often carry £2 million or higher, sometimes £5 million when they handle high-value commercial relocations. The Association of British Insurers describes public liability as cover for claims made by members of the public for injury or property damage connected to a business’s activities.
This is the policy that quietly matters most for the customer. Damage to a flat’s hardwood floor or a freshly-painted communal stairwell can easily run to hundreds of pounds. Without public liability cover, the dispute becomes a small-claims matter rather than an insurance claim. Asking “do you carry public liability, and what’s the cover limit?” before booking is a reasonable due-diligence step. With The Van Man Co, cover varies from driver to driver too, so ask the driver what they hold. If you’re moving in Kent, you can get an estimate on our Maidstone man and van page.