What is an Employers Liability Insurance Policy?

Employers Liability Insurance – sometimes called EL Insurance – provides you with cover against claims from employees or former employees who have been injured or fallen ill because of their work. It will pay for your legal fees, plus claimants’ legal fees and compensation if the courts find in their favour.

What does employers’ liability insurance cover?

No matter how careful you are, injuries at work happen. Your policy will cover any kind of claim from employees over accidents or illness sustained at the workplace, or in connection with their work if they are required to travel or work offsite.

In reality, Employers Liability cover is most often used to settle claims made after slips, trips and falls on business premises.

That could be anything from an employee twisting an ankle after tripping on a frayed carpet or doormat, to an injury sustained following a fall from height.

According to the HSE, over half a million such injuries were self-reported in 2017/18, so it makes sense to insure yourself properly against every eventuality.

Stanmore Insurance Brokers’ specialists in Employers Liability Insurance will work with you to make sure you get the right level of cover for the risks your business is exposed to.

Once in place, your policy will apply to all your full-time and part-time employees as well as any self-employed contractors you have hired; temporary staff, apprentices and volunteers; and people taking part in work experience or training schemes.

Why do you need Employers Liability Cover?

In order for your case against you to be successful, an employee must prove that you breached the duty of care you have to employees and that you were negligent. Proof of negligence can be sought by proving that you failed to ensure that the working environment adhered to the minimum health and safety standards expected. Secondly, the employee needs to prove ‘medical causation’, i.e. that your s negligence resulted in them being injured.

Employer Liability Real-life example:

We attend court with clients to provide the support they need. By working closely with our clients we are able to ascertain all the facts, ensure all paperwork is available and just be there in difficult times.

“It means a lot when the MD of your insurance broker turns up to a hearing, to support you when defending a spurious injury claim. Stanmore Insurance Brokers certainly delivered on every aspect of insurance and Jackie Hyde is a very talented and dedicated business leader”. – Ivan Rawlins Director DXI

Your account handler

“Good relationships are good for business. So at Stanmore Insurance, we believe in really getting to know our customers. That’s why we provide you with a dedicated account handler, who’ll get to know you and your nursery on a one-to-one level.” – Jackie Hyde, Managing Director

Insurance types

Business Cyber Insurance Cover

Protect your business in the event of cyber attack

Property Damage Insurance Cover

Make sure your business can continue if the worst happens

Public Liability Insurance Cover

Cover all kinds of claims made in a wide variety of work environments

Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover

Provides cover to pay for legal costs and expenses if a customer claims.

Commercial Financial Crime Insurance Cover

Protect your company against direct losses that could occur due to the theft of money

Directors & Officers Insurance Cover

Liability cover that protects a company’s directors, senior management and other key personnel

Business Interruption Insurance Cover

Insures you against losses of income that could occur if you were unable to trade due to an unexpected event

Do I have to have Employers Liability Insurance?

Yes! Under the Employers Liability Act, you must take out Employers Liability cover as soon as you take on staff, whether they are full-time, part-time or temporary.

In fact, you can be fined £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured and £1,000 for not displaying your EL certificate or refusing to make it available to inspectors when they ask to see it.

In addition, your Employers Liability Insurance must cover you for at least £5m in damages, court fees and compensation and it must be provided by an authorised insurer.

The Financial Conduct Authority register provides a list of authorised EL insurers, but it will be much easier to use the services of a specialist broker like us at Stanmore.

We only work with authorised insurance providers and our in-depth knowledge and experience means that whatever kind of business you run, we can help you find the right level of cover at a competitive price.

How much Public Liability Cover will I need?

Although the legal minimum cover for EL insurance is £5m, most insurers provide a £10m indemnity as standard. Beyond that, it is the decision of individual businesses to balance how much they want to cover themselves for against how much risk they are prepared to accept.

That is not a decision any business should take without expert advice. We are a highly experienced advisor of risk for commercial insurance, offering informed guidance to help you understand the risks specific to your industry. Our approach to insurance is to provide you with menu of choice, whereby you select the specific covers and protections your individual business needs (with assistance from our experts of course), resulting in truly bespoke cover, reflective of your appetite to risk and the specifics of your business model.

Deciding your level of Public Liability Insurance

When assessing whether you need additional cover beyond the £10m that is widely offered, think about the nature of the threats to employee health and safety in your sector. For example, heavy industries with dangerous working environments pose a greater risk of accidents, for which you will likely pay a higher premium.

On the other hand, the traditional office environment, while not posing as much danger to life and limb, can result in higher numbers of claims for long term health issues such as Repetitive Strain Injury or stress related illness.

The size of your business and number of people you employ will also have a direct impact on the scope of your EL cover and the price you pay. If you are responsible for organising EL Insurance in a large corporation, then your needs – and budget – will be very different to someone who runs a smaller family business.

Employers Liability Insurance may be one of the first things you have to have by law when you set up a business, but that does not mean you have to accept the first quote you get. With our many years’ experience to draw on, we will always work harder to find you the right insurance package at the right price. So talk to the experts today.

Get in contact

Talk to Stanmore the insurance people about Employers Liability Insurance now – call our team on 01204 570 370

Employers Liability Insurance Cover