Employers’ liability insurance
Protecting your employees isn’t optional. Meet your legal requirements with insurance that covers your people and your business.
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What is employers’ liability insurance?
Employers’ liability (EL) insurance protects you if one of your employees says they were injured or made ill by the work they do for you.
When a claim comes in, it handles your legal defence and any compensation you might owe. So not just a sticking plaster, more like full triage and treatment.
Given the eye-watering costs, time, and difficulty of EL claims, that’s a big weight off your shoulders.
It’ll also cover both your full and part-time employees. As well as any temp workers, apprentices, and even some types of contractors.
So, it’s worthwhile having. But it’s also mandatory. Any business in the UK with employees needs EL, by law. With a minimum cover of £5 million.
In a nutshell, it meets your legal requirements and protects your business from damaging financial claims. And makes sure your employees are compensated if something goes wrong.
Want to know more? Here’s our complete employers’ liability insurance guide.
Who needs employers’ liability insurance?
Any UK business that has at least one employee.
What is an ‘employee’ though? Well, in this case, the UK Health and Safety executive (HSE) can mean:
- Full-time and part-time workers
- Temporary and seasonal staff
- Apprentices and trainees
- Work experience students
- Volunteers
- Some types of subcontractors and agency workers.
Here’s a rule of thumb. If someone works under your direction, uses your tools, or works to your schedule, there’s a good chance they need to be covered.
Even if you don’t call them an ‘employee’.
It’s also worth remembering that EL is required by law, as soon as you become an employer. Without it, you could face fines of up £2,500 for each day you don’t have it.
Sole trader with no employees? You usually won’t need EL. If you ever bring in a subcontractor or part-time worker, you may need cover, though.
Have a read of the Health & Safety Executive’s guide on EL for more details, including companies that don’t need to have EL.
How much cover do I need?
UK law requires you have at least £5 million of cover.
Most insurers won’t offer less than £10 million, though.
Why? Simply, serious claims can be expensive. It’s common for them to cost more than £5 million, so insurers offer more by default.
It also protects you against underinsurance, which can leave you with insurance payouts that don’t cover the full cost of a claim.
What happens if I need to make a claim?
Simple, just get in touch with us.
We’ll guide you through the process from start to finish and let you know what information we need from you and when.
Here’s an example of a real employers’ liability claim:
- An employee alleged they'd slipped on oil in a warehouse and injured their back.
- As soon as the incident was reported and before doing anything else, the employer contacted their insurer and asked to claim on their EL cover.
- The insurer asked the employer to provide all available evidence and information regarding the incident.
- Evidence pointed towards the claim being staged by the employee. So, while it would have been cheaper to settle the claim early, the insurer pushed for it to go to trial.
- The trial found no evidence that an accident had occurred and sided with the employer.
The EL cover handled all the legal costs, meaning the whole incident didn’t cost the employer a penny.
What else do I need?
You can’t get employers’ liability on its own, so you’ll need public liability insurance too (at least). It’s for when you go out and about on business, or have visitors to your office. It’s for claims of physical damage to property and people. Useful if you’re clumsy.
Professional indemnity insurance is for claims and allegations of negligence, mistakes and things you’ve failed to do. Essential if you provide specialist services to paying clients.
Legal expenses insurance covers you if you’re faced with a legal dispute, such as debt recovery, contract disagreements, or employment issues. A lifesaver for small businesses worried about the impact of legal costs.
Office and property insurance covers the things in your office (furniture, plants, fixed IT equipment etc) and portable insurance covers gadgets and technical equipment away from the office (laptops, tablets, projectors etc). If you’re not sure it’s worth insuring, add it all up – it’s probably worth more than you think.
Business interruption insurance means you can still work when your office is out of action. Be it flood, fire or flea infestation, you’re covered for the costs of setting up elsewhere and for any lost income in that time.
Directors’ and officers’ insurance covers your company bosses. Anyone from regulators to shareholders to competitors can accuse you of not running a business with due care. Worse, directors are personally liable for their actions. The good thing is this insurance covers your defence costs and any compensation you have to pay. So you can put away your chequebook.
Why should I buy my insurance from you?
We’re your personal shopper for business insurance. Only instead of picking out killer outfits, we find an insurance package that’s just the right fit for you.
As a broker, we work alongside insurers to find the most suitable cover for your needs. We do all the legwork and find the best policy for you from the insurers we have access to.
Unlike some other brokers, we’re also authorised to offer ‘advised sales’. In plain English, this means we can use our expertise to advise you and guide you towards the right cover for your business.
Any questions along the way? No problem. Our team of expert insurance advisers are here to answer them, whether you prefer to call or email.
The best part? Depending on your insurer, we have a dedicated claims team who manage the entire claims process for you. We represent your interests too, so our aim is to secure you the best possible outcome.
