What is Employers’ Liability Insurance?
Employers’ Liability Insurance is a compulsory, legally required insurance which covers people who you employ under a contract of service or apprenticeship.
The Health and Safety Executive’s Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 means that you must have insurance in place if you employ one or more employees, unless they are related to you and you do not operate as a limited company, or you employ someone who is based abroad.
You can find out more about how the government classifies an employee in relation to Employers’ Liability Insurance on their website here:
https://www.gov.uk/employers-liability-insurance
We provide Employers’ Liability Insurance for dental surgeries, doctors’ practices, accountants, scientific and biotechnology researchers, care home providers, manufacturing organisations, and vet surgeries.
Find answers to your Frequently Asked Questions below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Employers’ Liability Insurance cover?
Employers’ Liability Insurance covers claims made against you if an employee is killed, injured or contracts an illness or disease whilst working for you, in connection with your business, whether on or off site. If an employee trips and falls over an unsecured piece of carpet or slips on a spill on the floor and sustains an injury as a result, as their employer, you are liable.
Reassuringly, Employers’ Liability Insurance will also cover you for employees that have long left your business and may only now bring a claim against you – such as an illness arising from working their time of employment.
Why do I need Employers Liability Insurance?
As an employer you are responsible for the health and safety of your employees when they are at work, whether on your premises or off site. Whilst you take care to ensure your employees are safe at work, with robust health and safety policies, accidents do happen. If someone slips on a wet floor in the work canteen and injures themselves, Employers’ Liability Insurance means you will have the right cover in place to settle any compensation claims made against you with minimum business disruption.
Your Employers’ Liability cover must by law, be a minimum of £5M, but our account executives can advise if you are likely to require more than this. Our expert advisers can talk to you about the employees within your business and the potential risks to ensure that you have the right cover in place, should you ever need to use it.
It’s vital to remember that you can be fined up to £2500 for any day you are found to be without adequate insurance. In addition, failure to make your insurance certificate available to HSE inspectors when asked for, can result in a fine of up to £1000.
What are the Benefits of Employers' Liability Insurance?
- Peace of mind for you and your employees
- Protection against financial loss in defending a claim
- Allows your business to continue to operate during a claim
How much Employers’ Liability cover do I need?
The minimum cover that you must have in place as a legal requirement is £5M, but typically policies we present will recommend cover up to £10M.
Employers’ Liability cover must be in place if you have one or more employees. The level of cover that we recommend will be dependent on your business circumstances and the potential for risk.
Our expert advisers will spend time getting to know your business to ensure that the level of cover that we recommend, will be right for your needs. We are an independent business insurance broker, and as such, are completely impartial. The policy programme presented to you for consideration, will be matched to you from our portfolio of A rated insurers
How can I buy Employers' Liability Insurance?
We offer a personal approach to business insurance and can find the right cover for you for a variety of purposes. Employers’ Liability Insurance may be just one of a number of insurances you require, so by speaking to our expert advisers we can create a tailored insurance programme to incorporate them all. You can call us on 01480 272727 or send an email to us as enquiries@barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk
We also offer Combined Commercial Insurance, if you need Public Liability Insurance as well as Employers’ Liability Insurance.
