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Liability Insurance Costs Expected to Rise – Be Prepared
 If
you have employees then you will be aware of
the high cost of Employers Liability
Compulsory Insurance (ELCI); the costs shot
up a few years ago, and sadly they look like
they could rise again in the near future.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has
warned that employers’ liability insurance
premiums could rise, following the
introduction at the end of January 2007 of a
new scheme that allows the NHS to recover
the costs of treating patients that have
been paid personal injury compensation.
This means that the minority of businesses
who cause accidents in the workplace are
expected to cause the cost of insurance to
go up for all businesses; as the insurers
will be forced to pay out more for each
claim that is made.
Mary Boughton, FSB
Health and Safety Chairman, said
“We are not here to defend businesses whose
negligence causes accidents in the
workplace. But the vast majority of small
businesses are conscientious employers and
don’t deserve to be set back by higher
insurance premiums.
“It was not long ago that surveys of the FSB
membership showed that, through no fault of
their own, 25% of small businesses found it
difficult or impossible to secure any sort
of Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance
and insurers were not taking good health and
safety records into account.
“Small businesses that can demonstrate a
good health and safety record should be
entitled to reduced premiums.”
Too many small businesses are treated badly
by insurers; their good records are ignored,
or they may be unable to get insured at all,
even if they have not made any past claims.
Hopefully insurers will soon start to
appreciate the small businesses that make an
effort, instead of just increasing their
charges along with the less careful
businesses.
Find out more in our Business Insurance
portal here.
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