In this article we will look at Employers Liability, whether it is time to change industry standards and how does Personal Accident cover fit in.

What is Employers Liability?

Employers Liability is a section of cover required by law should you have employees within your organisation. Most insurers will offer this as standard given it covers for both Employees and Volunteers. This cover would protect your group should an Employee or Volunteer make an allegation against you.

What is Personal Accident?

Personal Accident cover is a ‘benefit’ policy in that it looks to provide a weekly payment to a volunteer/employee if they have suffered an injury but feel as though it is not due to the employer’s negligence. For example a volunteer may slip and hurt their wrist resulting in them not being able to work. With personal accident, the organisation they were volunteering for could make that claim and provide the volunteer with a weekly income until they are able to return to work.

So now we have a basic understanding of the covers, now it is time to think and understand why Employers Liability cover may face changes in the coming years and why it is becoming arguably more beneficial to include Personal Accident cover within your current insurance cover.

Should we make changes to Employers Liability?

Employers Liability is offered most, if not all, of the time on a £10,000,000 indemnity limit basis. However in recent times there has been a large shift in:

• The Claim settlements paid
• The change in culture and overall mind-set in relation to making a claim
• The legal costs to battling a claim

With these changes, insurers alike have begun to question whether a cover limit of £10,000,000 is truly enough especially in some cases where there could be multiple claims following a large/total loss.

However for small organisations who mainly do office based/low risk type of work, the cover already in place is arguably more than plenty in the event of even multiple claims and the industry has already set a standard so those insured do not need to worry about what limit they require.

How could Personal Accident cover help?

By taking on Personal Accident cover both Employees and Volunteers now have access to the benefit which will look to pay out in the event of an accident.

The amount paid out would typically be weekly or a lump-sum paid in the event of a more severe incident. This is to assist in paying for any treatment/recovery the Employee/Volunteer may require.

In some instances a Personal Accident policy could look to pay out for an employee who was injured outside of work, this is usually referenced as a 24 hour Personal Accident cover. The reason as to why some groups may want this is to ensure their workers receive the care and treatment they need to ensure a swift recovery.

This may potentially help an a volunteer/employee maybe less inclined to make an allegation following the pay out of a Personal Accident policy, hopefully resulting in a reduction to the risk of suffering an Employer Liability Claim.

Overall-

If you are concerned about your organisation, whether the cover you hold is the cover you require and the potential of the claim then please do not hesitate to contact us; we are more than willing to assist you in your concerns and ensuring peace of mind in regards to your insurance cover.