We Answer Your Questions On Employee Liability Insurance

 

Also known as employer’s liability insurance, this is one of the most common and vital policy types that you will require if you run a business that regularly depends on staff members to function.

Due to the wide variety of businesses of this kind that exist - as well of the myriad of claims that employees can potentially make against their CEOs - you absolutely must ensure that you’ve selected the correct cover for your company.Insurance and finance advisors Rigby Financial deal with these types of policies on a daily basis, so we’ve put together a short list of answers to questions about employee liability insurance and what it involves.

Employee Liability Insurance - Rigby Financial

1. What is it?
If an employee makes an insurance claim against your company, employee liability insurance will cover the resulting costs that may arise as a result, up to a specific amount pre-arranged in your chosen policy.

2. Do I Need It?
If you are the employer of any number of staff, it’s an unequivocal yes. In this instance, if you don’t have it as soon as you hire your staff, you will be fined £2,500 by the Health and Safety Executive for every day you continue to run your company without it. You may also be fined £1,000 if you fail to have an existing insurance certificate easily accessible to employees or HSE inspectors. If you’re a sole trader or an individual running a limited company without employees, or the sole company director owning more than half of the shares, you don’t necessarily need this type of insurance - though some clients may stipulate it as a necessity within their contract.

3. What Constitutes An “Employee”?
If you’re unsure of whether or not individuals who work for your business would be classified as “employees” by HSE, it is definitely worth seeking advice from a professional broker about the particular criteria. Under certain circumstances, contractors, subcontractors, freelancers, temporary (even for a few hours) workers and interns can all be considered employees. As a sole trader, you can employ close family members without insurance, but this is not the case if you run a limited company. Minor details like these are vital to iron out with HSE or other insurance specialists.

4.What’s the Minimum Cover I Need?
Standard cover from most firms tends to come in at £10,000,000, but HSE requires a minimum of £5,000,000 to meet their specifications.

5. What Will it Cost Me?
Due to the number of variables - ranging from the size of your company, the number of people it employs, the type of work they undertake and other specifics - it’s hard to pin down a general price range for employee liability insurance. You can bring your costs down by keeping your team up to date with official advanced health and safety courses, purchasing cover as part of a business insurance package (along with the likes of public liability insurance), or shopping around for policies that meet your exact requirements with no unnecessary extras.

If you wish to know more about employee liability insurance or to ask for assistance when seeking out the perfect policy for your company, simply call Rigby Financial today on 01744 886077.