The insurance requirements vary greatly from business to business, and this is largely dictated by their size, structure and how the business operates. Some covers, including public liability, are considered essential. Others can be required by law, such as employers’ liability (if you employ staff), whilst others will be dictated by the terms of business under which you operate. It is vital that recruitment agencies protect themselves against claims for professional negligence, by purchasing professional indemnity insurance, but aside from this, it is important that you assess what risks the business faces when arranging insurance. If you are unsure as to what cover you should be purchasing, contact a member of our team who can guide you through the process.

Professional indemnity protects you against professional negligence claims made by clients during the course of business. Claims examples include offering poor advice, failure to carry out relevant employment checks, or accidentally disclosing a client’s private data. Claims may also be bought for defamation or breach of copyright or confidentiality.

Mistakes can arise at any time, so professional indemnity policies protect you from the financial implications arising from these errors.

Retroactive cover means that your policy will cover claims made against work carried out before your policy started, and therefore you are required to provide a retroactive date as will appear on your current policy.  Professional indemnity claims operate under a “claims made” basis, which means you must have insurance in place at the time of the claim, and just when the work was carried out.

Public liability insurance, general liability insurance and third-party liability insurance are all different names for the same thing. Public liability insurance protects against two risks you run every working day; damage to the property of a customer or member of the public and physical injury to a customer, visitor or passer-by.

If a third-party is injured or their property is damaged because of your workplace or business activities, you could be held responsible. Trips, slips and mishaps can occur even when you’re doing your job with great care. And unfortunately, when they do, legal action is likely to follow. That’s when you need your public liability insurance to cover any damages, compensation or legal fees arising from the claim.

Drivers’ negligence insurance will cover the cost to repair damage sustained to the end client’s vehicle, caused by the negligence of the driver you have supplied. Only if you are made liable under contract for such damage, will you be required to take out this cover, however, this is becoming more and more common for clients to request this. The intent is to prevent the client from needing to claim on their motor policy for minor damage, such as a scrape or scuff, which in turn would affect their motor premium.

It is important to note that the cover does not extend to cover claims for third party vehicles or bodily injury.

Vicarious liability insurance, extends your professional indemnity cover to protect against negligent acts carried out by workers, which you have supplied to the end client. Whether you are required to purchase this cover or not would depend on the contract which you have entered into with the end client. Non-standard terms of business whether they are your clients terms, or an amendment on your standard contract, could make you liable for the actions of the worker, leaving you exposed to claims.

It is important to understand the extent of your liability and purchase suitable cover to protect against the risk. If you have any questions on vicarious liability or are concerned you may be exposed, talk to one of our team today.

In the unfortunate event that you need to make a claim, we ask that you contact us without delay on 01242 808741 or email recruitment@kingsbridge.co.uk. Our specialist claims team will assist you through the claims process and will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.