Employers’ Liability Insurance

Employers’ liability insurance – employers’ public liability insurance, EL insurance, or employer liability insurance as it’s also known – protects employers from compensation claims from their employees should they be sued by over injury, illness or damage to their property while at work. If you have anybody working for you, be they full-time, part-time, or contracted, then having EL cover is a legal requirement. Failure to have a policy in place can lead to a £2,500 fine for each day you are without it. Even if the people working for you are volunteers, it’s still recommended that you have employers’ liability insurance in place as organisations have a duty of care to anyone working for them regardless of whether they are paid or not.
In law, the health and safety of your employees are essential, which is why you are legally required to protect your business from incidents such as:
- Someone having an accident at work
- A member of staff developing a medical condition through their work
- One of your team members had their property damaged at work
Legally speaking, your policy must:
- Cover you for at least £5 million of liability
- Be through an authorised insurer
And all employers must provide a safe working environment. Failure to have adequate employers’ liability insurance in place can result in a fine of up to £2,500 per day (Gov.co.uk). Even failing to display your employer’s liability insurance certificate can lead to a fine of £1,000.

In the UK, you are legally required to have at least £5 million of Employers’ Liability Insurance cover, meaning your policy must cover compensation claims up to that amount. Most UK insurers will offer cover of up to £10 million and limits can go even higher for companies with a large number of employees or ones that work in hazardous industries.
The easiest way to get the right amount of employers’ public liability insurance is to get some independent advice. To find out how much cover your organisation needs, call us on 01482 434343 or request a callback. Our team of liability insurance specialists will be happy to get to know your needs and provide you with an employers’ liability insurance quote that’s right for you.
Employers’ liability insurance is a complex area of insurance and it’s vital to get it right as it’s one of the only insurance policies that is a legal requirement. To help you get the protection that’s right for you, here are our employers’ public liability insurance frequently asked questions. We hope they will prove helpful, but if you’d like to get some independent advice, then please call us on 01482 434343 or request a callback. Our team of liability insurance specialists will be happy to talk you through the options to ensure you get the cover that’s right for you.