Frequently Asked Questions

Public Liability insurance covers you if someone in your care, or a member of the public, suffers an injury that is considered by law to have been caused by your negligence. Recent examples have included a visitor to a hall who slipped on a wet floor, which had not been properly cleaned; and a child who was injured when an incorrectly erected trestle table fell on her foot. Such incidents now frequently lead to claims being made and you need Public Liability insurance to protect your interests against such lawsuits.

If you employ anyone you are required by law to take out Employers' Liability cover. It is like Public Liability insurance but relates specifically to employees. Recent examples have included an employee injured when a cupboard fell off the wall; and an employee injured following a fall from a ladder. This section of cover also extends to cover voluntary workers.

Volunteers are automatically covered under the Public and Products Liability section of your policy should they cause third party bodily injury or property damage whilst engaged in your organisation’s activities.

However, it is more beneficial to you to have an Employer’s Liability cover in place to cover you against claims where a volunteer may allege to have suffered injury or harm whilst under your care, owing to the Employer’s Liability being subject to fewer conditions and exclusions. 

Liability insurance covers you for damages and costs that may be awarded against you in a Court of Law when you have been found to be negligent. The Personal Accident section provides an agreed amount of compensation in the event of an injury, such as loss of a limb or an eye, suffered by an official or a participant in the absence of any negligence. A full list of injuries for which compensation would be payable is stated on the summary.

Public Liability insurance provides cover for accidental bodily injury or physical damage to property of a third party, in the event of an incident occurring for which you are found to be negligent. Professional Indemnity insurance is concerned with errors or omissions you or your staff may inadvertently make in the course of your duties. For instance, you may unintentionally release confidential information about someone in your care. The Professional Indemnity cover available does also extend to cover libel and/or slander.

Directors' and Officers' liability insurance, often referred to as D&O insurance, is a legal defence insurance that provides financial assistance to fund the costs of defending directors, officers and managers should they face action and investigation over the way they ran a company. The policy not only pays defence costs, but can also provide cover for damages, awards, and settlements.

The types of actions and investigations can stem from a wide array of sources - shareholders and stakeholders of the business in question, customers, employees, creditors, as well as increasing formal investigations by regulators (such as the Health and Safety Executive).

Traditional Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance can cover you if you face claims from clients alleging poor or negligent advice for work you have done for them.

Directors’ and Officers’ (D&O) Liability insurance provides cover to executives within the company if they face investigation or litigation for an actual or alleged wrongful act whilst running the company.

Carpets would be considered as tenant’s Improvements and if you have selected cover for Property Damage these would be covered, subject to the adequacy of the sum insured.

Flooring, including wood panelling, would be regarded as a fixture, and would also be covered under the Tenant’s Improvements section. If you own the buildings, then flooring and the like should be insured under the optional Buildings section.

Yes, please refer to the Property Damage section of the summary for further details of the cover provided. Higher limits are available subject to security. Please contact Morton Michel for further guidance.

Your building(s) should be insured for the full replacement cost of the structure, including all fixtures and fittings, outbuildings, annexes and walls, gates and fences, debris removal costs, statutory costs, plus an allowance for architects' and surveyors' fees.

The most reliable solution to getting an adequate figure is to arrange for a survey of the premises and specifically request an insurance valuation. Please note that the rebuild cost is different to the market value of the building and you should commission a survey every 2-3 years to ensure your sums insured stay aligned with inflation specifically in the construction industry.

After considering the recovery period for your business following a substantial loss or interruption, such as a fire you should insure for your full projected revenue over the indemnity period you have selected with allowances for growth and other inflationary factors.

For example, if you forecast to generate a revenue of £400,000 over the next 12 months; this will be the minimum level of cover you require. If you require a longer indemnity period (the period in which your business will be subsidised to return to the same levels of trading you enjoyed before a loss), you will need to consider what your forecasted revenue will be over that period. For example, year 1 forecast is £400,000 but year 2 forecast is £475,000. Over a 24-month indemnity period, your minimum level of cover should be £875,000. 

Underinsurance could leave you seriously out of pocket if you try to make a claim. It is crucial that you insure for the full reinstatement value of Contents, Revenue and Buildings (if insured). For instance, if the total new for old value of your contents is £50,000 then you must insure for £50,000. If you insure for less, you are underinsured.

In the event of a claim, then the amount of the claim’s settlement will be reduced proportionately. For instance, if you have declared that you have £25,000 of Contents and in fact you have £50,000, then you will be deemed to be your own insurer for half the value of your contents and you will only receive half the settlement you have claimed for. If you claim for £10,000 of damage, you will only receive £5,000.Find out more by reading our article on Business Interruption.

If you are employing someone to help you with your business, and you are paying them above the current threshold, then you are required to register with HMRC as an employer.

The reason we are requesting the ERN Number is that Insurers are required to provide this information monthly for the Employers' Liability Database in connection with all new and renewed policies. Click here for further information

It is important the name on your insurance policy accurately reflects the legal status of the business.

Sole Traders are the simplest way to set up and run a business, as ownership and control of the business rests with a single individual. If you are a sole trader, you can trade under a business name. For instance, Mrs Janet Smith t/a ABC Childcare.

Partnerships can be General Partnerships, Limited Partnerships or Limited Liability Partnerships. If you have set up as a general partnership, you should show your trading title as Mrs Janet Smith and Mrs Ruby Reynolds t/a Smith Reynolds Partnership. If you have set up a limited partnership or a limited liability partnership, you should show your name as Smith Reynolds Limited Partnership or Smith Reynolds LLP.

Limited Companies (Ltd) are legal entities in their own right and they may be limited by shares or by Guarantee. The title of a Limited company should be shown as Smith Jones Ltd.

UK Registered Charity, Association or Club. You should use the name you have registered with the Charity Commission or similar body.

Unregistered clubs or associations run by committees can style themselves in various ways. The most common are 'the committee for the time being on behalf of..........' Or 'the treasurer......' or 'the secretary.....' etc. All of the committee could be named, or it could just be one authorised person.

Provided that the consent of Ofsted or other registering authority has been obtained (where required). You can advise us of a change or premises online and you may need to answer questions in relation to the security at the new premises. Please make sure you have changed your address on your policy before you start operating there to ensure that you are covered.

Yes, a National Pool Lifeguard qualification or equivalent qualified Life Saver or swimming teacher/coach must attend all times.

Yes, all visiting instructors must have their own Public Liability insurance covering their activities, effective and with a limit of Indemnity of at least £5,000,000 whilst they are carrying out such activities.