New Contractor : PI / Professional / Employee Liability Insurances

[Master]

Hi, I am new contractor, just got my first contract. They agency has mentioned all the 3 insurances of upto 5 Million in the contract. 1 Million seems to be the common level everywhere and I am even struggling to find quotes for £5 Million.

When queried, the agency saying that this is a client requirement and have actually queried the client again, but say they have to do whatever the client requests.

Is this common? If yes, can you please suggest where I can get £5M cover? Alternatively, can I say that I can take only 1 Million?

[SteelyDan]

I'm sure someone will correct me as appropriate, but if you are a one man band (no employees) then you are not obliged to have EL insurance at all. I had to point this out to a big organisation recently. I was exempt from needing it for the contract (I checked my facts first on Business Link) but I think I had to provide a statement of sorts to claim the exemption, which they accepted.

£5m sounds excessive to me. Mine's normally £2m, just for comparison, but the role which you're up for might have different requirements.

[Master]

Thanks Steely Dan. It is a limited company with me and spouse. I do have all three insurances of upto £1M through the group policy of my accountant.

It is not a specialist job as such. I am BA working on IT projects.

[Clare@InTouch]

I'm sure someone will correct me as appropriate, but if you are a one man band (no employees) then you are not obliged to have EL insurance at all. I had to point this out to a big organisation recently. I was exempt from needing it for the contract (I checked my facts first on Business Link) but I think I had to provide a statement of sorts to claim the exemption, which they accepted.

£5m sounds excessive to me. Mine's normally £2m, just for comparison, but the role which you're up for might have different requirements.

Agreed, EL isn't necessary if you're just you.

.....if you are a Limited Company with 2 or more working directors then you MUST by law have this cover even if you are a husband and wife team under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. There is an exception to this legal requirement which is a Limited Company with only ONE working person who is a director and owns fifty per cent or more of the issued share capital, i.e. there are no other persons whatsoever doing any work in the company.

Do I really need Employers Liability Insurance (EL) and what happens if I don’t have it?

[prozak]

Thanks Steely Dan. It is a limited company with me and spouse. I do have all three insurances of upto £1M through the group policy of my accountant.

It is not a specialist job as such. I am BA working on IT projects.

Agencies really are such idiots.

What could a BA possibly do to require PI.

[Qdos Contractor]

The vast majority of contractors will have £1m PI, £1m PL and £10m EL. To ask for £5m across the board is uncommon and probably over the top.

Just so you know (so you can compare - not a sales pitch), for an IT contractor we can do £5m PI, £5m PL and £10m EL for £479.57 combined. I'm sure most insurers/brokers will also provide cover at the limits you require, but may not offer them online.

[Notascooby]

This usually happens when an agency tries to back-to-back insurances...

I'm currently fighting having to have 5M PI and 10M EL / 10M PL....but for the sake of £50 per month I'll do this whilst in the contract.

[northernladuk]

Agencies really are such idiots.

What could a BA possibly do to require PI.

You are kidding right? What is up with you today?

[prozak]

The vast majority of contractors will have £1m PI, £1m PL and £10m EL. To ask for £5m across the board is uncommon and probably over the top.

Just so you know (so you can compare - not a sales pitch), for an IT contractor we can do £5m PI, £5m PL and £10m EL for £479.57 combined. I'm sure most insurers/brokers will also provide cover at the limits you require, but may not offer them online.

Yep. Seems good enough for me.

[kaiser78]

I have my cover through QDOS at a pretty cheap rate.

Probably not the must bullet proof cover you will get, but is sufficient for what I need, given it was a requirement of the clientco/agency and not specifically the role I am undertaking.