Employers' Liability Insurance - What is it and why do you need it?
Employers' Liability Insurance is a legal requirement for many businesses against the costs that may arise from an incident involving an employee.
It is one of the main types of business insurance cover for companies of all sizes, from one employee right up to many thousands of members in your workforce, to make sure your business does not suffer if you have to pay out to cover compensation and legal costs.
For your employees, it also ensures that if an incident at work leaves them facing substantial medical costs and an inability to work, you can pay out the appropriate compensation, they do not have to pay their medical fees out of their own pocket, and the business is able to continue trading too.
If you are one of the majority of businesses that are legally obliged to have Employers' Liability Insurance, and failing to arrange suitable cover could leave you facing a fine up to a maximum of £2,500 per day.
You might not be legally required to have Employers' Liability Insurance, for example if your employees are all members of your own family, but it's still sensible to arrange some cover to protect against the same costs as those businesses for whom it is mandatory.
Examples of the kinds of costs your Employers' Liability Insurance can protect against include:
Compensation payouts for claims of work-related illness or injury.
Legal costs associated with defending a claim.
Additional compensation for loss of earnings and medical costs.
Without adequate Employers' Liability Insurance cover, you could find it very costly - or financially impossible - to defend against any attempted compensation claim by a member of your workforce.
As with any insurance policy, the amount that will be paid out depends on your policy limit, making it important to arrange adequate cover for the size of claims you could potentially face in the future.
If you are not sure whether you need Employers' Liability Insurance, or if your workforce is legally considered to consist of 'employees' rather than independent contractors, for instance, then you should seek legal advice to be sure - the fines for not having mandatory cover in place can be even more punishing than the cost of facing a claim without cover.
Adelphi Insurance's experts can help you to decide exactly what cover you need, and recommend a tailored business insurance policy that gives you a level of Employers' Liability Protection that protects you, your business and your employees too.