Insurance needed?

We used to have the staff and offices etc, but have now gone to just myself and my wife running the ltd company business from home as you are doing.

We don't pay any employers liability insurance, what for? We are hardly likely to take ourselves to court.

I can't see any need for public liability insurance, but without knowing all the details of your business I am not in a position to say for sure.

As for telling your insurance company that you work from home, I can't see any reason unless you are going to buy a lot of expensive equipment that would not be covered under your household policy.

I would be interested if anyone thinks that there is a real need for extra insurance cover because we don't bother. :?

JB

I would recommend a visit to http://www.alecfinch.com
They will be able to advise what is and what is not required as well as finding you the best price and policy shoudl you decide to go ahead.

J

I know that there are plenty of insurances that are legally required once you actually employ people, but please keep me informed if there is something I have missed. :?

JB

Just as a follow up (started to worry in case I was breaking the law :? ) I did a bit of reading on the subject to clarify the situation.

(Quotes taken from books in my office)

"If you employ anybody in your business – even if they’re part-time or casual staff – then you need employers liabilty insurance. The cover protects you against claims from employees for accidents or sickness caused through work with the legal minimum cover being £5 million."

As we own the company and no longer employ anyone other than ourselves then I would think that this insurance is not necessary and that is the view that we have taken.

With regards to public liability insurance:

"The law states that if you cause damage to someone or their property then you will have to pay the claim amount which, in the worst case scenario, could run to many millions of pounds. By taking out Public Liability Insurance you are protecting your business against going bankrupt should the worst happen. The insurer will pay the claim and any legal fees. The knowledge that your business is protected will also give you the confidence to concentrate on the running of your business, rather than concerning yourself with worst case scenarios."

As we run our business from home, have no employees, do not sell a product which can harm anyone, do not have clients visit our premises, etc then we took the view that there is so actual scenario that we would need to insure against.

When I had the plant hire business there were dangers all over the place and I was covered up to the hilt, but with the current business I can't see what I would need to insure against. :?

The only thing we do have is indemnity insurance to cover the translations we supply, but that is a separate matter.

If I am wrong and I need to be insured in case my website gives someone a heart attack, then I would be happy to be enlightened

JB

My expertise in regards to insurance is mainly in personal lines insurance rather than commercial but from what you say there is no legal requirement for either types of insurance as a spounse doesnt need to be covered by employers liability (to the best of my knowledge) but if you contact a local broker they will be able to confirm.

Public liability insurance can be a good safe guard against spurious claims that randomly appear at times but it is a judgement call if it is something that will be good in your situation.

You will need to notify your home insurers about the change in use - some will cover it others will place endorsements on the policy not to cover anything business related and a few insurers wont touch homeworkers.

multilingual said:

As we own the company and no longer employ anyone other than ourselves then I would think that this insurance is not necessary and that is the view that we have taken.

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This is an interesting one. I think you might be in breach of the law. Take a look at page 4 of this document:-

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdf

If you are a LTD then it looks like you cannot be exempt, despite being family.

Whether anyone would ever enforce this is another question.

Kent Manufacturer said:

multilingual said:

As we own the company and no longer employ anyone other than ourselves then I would think that this insurance is not necessary and that is the view that we have taken.

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This is an interesting one. I think you might be in breach of the law. Take a look at page 4 of this document:-

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdf

If you are a LTD then it looks like you cannot be exempt, despite being family.

Whether anyone would ever enforce this is another question.

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Interesting article. However, it also states that companies are exempt if they are employing "only their owner where that employee also owns 50% or more of the issued share capital in the company".

We are both owners with equal 50% stake in the business, so that makes us exempt (I think :roll: )

Hope so anyway. Bit of a grey area this it seems.

JB

This is a fairly recent change - a couple of years ago you would legally have had to have Employers Liability Insurance - but now I think you are in the clear.

Its great to have some sensible legislation going through...

multilingual said:

However, it also states that companies are exempt if they are employing "only their owner where that employee also owns 50% or more of the issued share capital in the company".

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Yes, I saw that but read it as meaning a single owner.

Hopefully one of our legal eagles will spot this thread and clarify.

I would take out the insurance. Your domestic insurer will usually include it as part of the "business side" of your insurance . The cost is negligble.

You should insure your business assets separately - within your domestic policy. If you make a claim and you have not declared your SOHO you are likely to loose out.

The cost of all this can be offset against business costs anyway.

Sharon said:

Many thanks for that, have just contacted them for advice and possible quotes.

I was under the impression that there were some insurances that were required by law JB? I'll let you know when I get a response from the Finch Group!

Sharon x

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Sharon - I just talked to Finch Group and they have had some problem with their webpage and enquiries have not gone through.

Suggest you complete their form again - http://alecfinch.com

If you are publishing public reviews would you have to be careful of accusations of libel?

SillyJokes said:

If you are publishing public reviews would you have to be careful of accusations of libel?

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Good point!