Changes to Employers Liability law may not be good for business says Coverzones

    LONDON, ENGLAND, October 04, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Businesses should be cautious about some of the changes made to the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations according to Steve Davis, Chief Broking Officer at Coverzones.

On 1 October 2008, amendments to the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998 come into force allowing employers to display their employers' liability insurance certificate in an electronic format, as long as it is readily accessible by all employees. In addition to this, the requirement for employers to retain copies of their insurance certificates for 40 years will be removed.

Under the current regulations, employers must insure against liability for injury or disease to employees arising out of their employment. One or more copies of the current insurance certificate must be displayed at each place of business and be "reasonably protected" from being defaced or damaged.

'Many business owners are unaware that they could be fined up to 2,500 for every day that cover is not in place, and that there is a penalty of up to 1,000 for failure to display and provide a copy of a certificate to an inspector on request' says Davis.

The amendments to the regulations are the result of a review by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) which estimated that the requirement to retain and display the certificates costs businesses about 71m. The DWP is committed to reducing the administrative burden on businesses by 25%.

'Under the new regulations, employers are still required to display their certificate of insurance in each place of business, but this can now be done in electronic format' says Davis, 'and the requirement to protect certificates from damage has been removed'.

The 2008 Regulations also remove the requirement for employers to retain their employers liability certificates for a 40-year period.

'Businesses should be cautious about discarding their old insurance certificates or allowing them to become damaged' says Davis. 'Claims for industrial disease can take decades to materialise and the Government has not created a national database of all employers' liability policies. If you can't produce a valid insurance certificate could you be certain of proving your business was covered? If not, the employer will be responsible for paying the claim, and the costs could be significant.'

For more information on employers liability insurance or to apply for a small business insurance quote online please go to Coverzones.

About Coverzones
Coverzones provides a business insurance comparison service catering to the specific business insurance needs of UK SME's. Launched in June 2008 with the support of the UK's leading commercial insurance providers including Allianz, Brit, Hiscox, MMA, Groupama, Travelers, Sagicor and HCC, Coverzones offers public liability, employers liability and professional indemnity insurance for over 800 types of business and trades. Coverzones is authorized and regulated by the FSA.

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