Who needs Employers’ Liability Insurance?
Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for anybody with employees (with a small number of exceptions, including public organisations and health service bodies – contact us if you are unsure).
Employers’ liability cover is required in the long-term, as some issues will only come to light several years after the original event. Employees can trace previous liability cover through ELTO, the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office, to pursue claims on this basis. This reinforces the need to comply with the law in purchasing employers’ liability insurance on an ongoing basis.
What is Employers’ Liability Insurance?
This cover is designed to provide insurance against claims by employees including volunteers who suffer illness or injury while employed by you. Even in companies with good Health and Safety and risk management procedures, claims can still occur, so it is important to have adequate protection for your business to defend itself.
Examples of where an employers’ liability claim might be made include:
• Slips, trips and falls in the workplace
• Injuries obtained in the workplace
• Stress related illnesses or injury
In these instances, employees will claim that their employer is responsible for an accident or incident happening – for example, inadequate training has been provided to operate machinery successfully, or a ‘wet floor’ sign has not been used after cleaning ceramic floor tiles.
Not all instances can be covered by a standard employers’ liability policy – for example, exposure to asbestos is often excluded.
How much cover do I need?
The minimum level of cover legally required is £5m, but many businesses require more than this. Most insurers will offer at least £10m worth of cover, should it be needed.
Claims for damages can be very costly, particularly where life-threatening or life-limiting injuries occur, or even the death of an employee. Defending such claims can also prove expensive – even if it is determined that your business is ultimately not responsible for what has happened.
Take time to think about any instances where your employees might deem the business responsible for incidents or accidents happening.
Getting the right level of cover is important. That is where dealing with an insurance broker that has worked with a huge range of industries – and businesses of all sizes – ensures that you are offered the correct level of insurance cover for what you do. Nothing more, nothing less.
How do I arrange Employers’ Liability Insurance cover?
Bollington is an award-winning independent insurance broker with wide-ranging experience of providing employers’ liability insurance. It’s easy to arrange cover with us. Simply:
• Call us on 01625 348029 for immediate assistance
• Arrange a call back – and a member of our friendly team will give you a call at a time to suit you
Bollington also offer a full range of risk management services, to ensure that your Health & Safety Management programme is adequate, helping you to prevent claims being made on your employers’ liability policy. These cost-effective services can also potentially save you money on your overall insurance costs. Take a look at our risk management section to find out more.