The Compulsory Insurance Act 1969 means that all employers are legally obligated to take out employer’s liability insurance.
Employers are liable for the health and safety of all employees during the time they spend at work. In the event of an employee sustaining an injury or becoming ill when at work; they may submit a compensation claim against you if they think that it was your fault. Employers’ liability insurance will help you to meet any damages that you are responsible for.
Although most business owner’s and employers are aware of this, there is still some confusion about the employers liability insurance definition and who it covers.
For the purpose of employer’s liability insurance, an employee is defined as
Any person who works for you in connection with your business such as:
A permanent employee
A temporary employee
A contractor who has been hired or borrowed by the business
An apprentice who is employed by or hired or borrowed by the business
A self-employed person who is working under the employers direction
A driver or hired plant operator
A sub-contractor
A student on work experience at the business
A volunteer
It is also necessary for you to display the employer’s liability insurance policy certificate where your workers are able to read it and where HSE inspectors will be able to see it if they visit. The minimum amount of employer’s liability cover is £5m, but the amount needs to be assessed for each business as many will require a higher level of cover. Businesses may be fined if the certificate is not displayed and it is also necessary for certificates to be retained for 40 years as some illnesses don’t develop for many years.
Knowing that businesses often have diverse and complex insurance needs, many providers offer additional extras or add-on elements to employer’s liability insurance, these can include tradesman insurance, shop/office/surgery insurance, landlord/commercial landlord insurance. In some instances, these add-ons can prove to be excellent value for money and combined with the simplicity of only having to carry out one transaction, are very cost efficient. However, each business needs to undergo analysis to accurately determine their individual requirements.
Quotes for employers liability insurance are available from www.specialistrisks.co.uk