Employers' Liability Insurance Costs

Is Employers' Liability Insurance Really That Expensive?

The average cost of UK employers' liability insurance ranges from a minimum of around £50/year per single low-risk employee up to £200 or more for a trade worker, with total premiums rising with both the number of employees and the riskiness of the work—for some businesses, it will be a significant business cost. Prices do become more economical (cheaper on a per-employee basis) as the number of employees grows.

While employers' liability insurance may seem expensive, it's required by law in most cases and protects against employee injury or illness claims. Read our in-depth guide to get a feel for the market before you buy a policy so you're well informed about pricing in the UK market.

• How much is employers' liability insurance?
  • How does your profession affect employers' liability insurance costs?
  • How does your business structure affect employers' liability insurance costs?
• Other factors that affect your employers' liability insurance rate
• Where can I get employers' liability insurance quotes?

Average Cost of Employers' Liability Insurance in the UK

Employers' liability insurance in the UK costs in the range of £50 to £200 per employee for most businesses, depending on the riskiness of the work done. Some high-risk business (e.g. scaffolding erectors) may pay many hundreds of pounds per employee. Total employers liability costs therefore depend on your industry and the number of people you employ.

For example, while cover for an employee who only does office work typically costs under £100, many businesses spend closer to £200 for EL insurance per worker performing tasks associated with the main line of business. This is because office work is usually pretty low risk, so administrative staff are less prone to workplace-related accidents or illnesses compared to other employees, especially those with physical tasks.

Generally speaking, the more employees you have, the higher your employers' liability insurance premium. However, each additional employee typically costs less to insure compared to previous employees you've added to your cover.

For example, in our data tests, the first employee cost on average £166 to insure, but the second employee cost an additional £111. Theoretically, each employee should cost a bit less to add to the policy, although this may not always hold.

While employers' liability insurance can seem expensive, regardless of the size of your business, the cost of workplace injuries and illnesses to a business can be significant.

How does your line of business affect employers' liability insurance costs?

Insurance companies base employers' liability insurance quotes on the type of work you carry out. The higher the risk of injury or illness to your employees, the higher the insurance rates. For example, EL premiums are typically higher for a builder than for a caterer. Our sample caterer would pay around £500 for 5 employees while our sample builder would pay nearly £1,000 to cover 5 employees—a roofer could easily pay £2,000-£3,000 all-in to cover 5 employees.

However those rates will vary depending on many factors including the business structure (e.g., sole trader/self employed, partnership or limited company).

How Business Structure Affects Employers' Liability Costs

Most insurance companies also base their employers' liability insurance rates on your business structure—that is, sole trader, partnership or limited company. Sole traders (the self employed) typically pay the least for employers' liability insurance—they also pay the least for public liability insurance.

Our tests over the years have shown that the cost of employers' liability insurance for a partnership is around 15% more than for a sole trader. A limited company (with one director) would typically pay 25-30% more for employers' liability than a sole trader. You can see these differences in the sample quotes below, which reflect prices across a range of lower, medium and higher-risk companies.

Claims History

If you have had previous employers’ liability claims made against you then it’s likely a new policy will cost you more. Insurers look at claims history for individual businesses and your business directors when calculating premiums, so in some cases directors who have had claims made against previous businesses can be charged more, even if their current business has no claims history.

Other risks that affect the cost

Each business will have unique attributes and risk factors that an insurance company takes into account when calculating a quote for employers' liability cover. For example, gardening maintenance companies that carry out tree felling will pay more for employers' liability cover than businesses that only carry out on-the-ground residential garden tidies.

In addition, your location can have a bearing on your employers' liability insurance premiums. If an insurance company has had a history of more EL claims in one area, they are likely to charge more for cover if that's where you operate. Also, the size of your business can be a factor, as can the types of customers you work for if you have a B2B company.

Overall, there are many factors that can influence your business insurance rates, but hopefully this will help you understand how your rates are calculated by your insurer, whether you're buying employers' liability insurance for the first time or are researching costs ahead of a renewal.

Where Can I Get Employers' Liability Insurance Quotes?

Fill out a quote form here and our commercial insurance search engine partner QuoteZone will connect you with up to 5 insurance providers to get employers' liability insurance. You’ll have a chance to build a policy to fit your needs specifically, including adding additional coverages like public liability insurance, and ask any questions you might have before buying a policy.

You can also find a BIBA broker using their search tool.

Before you sign on the dotted line, be sure that an insurer is qualified to offer insurance by checking the Financial Services Register, which is maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority.

FAQs

Methodology

To determine the average cost of employers' liability insurance for a small company in the UK, our study involved gathering dozens of quotes for basic employers' liability insurance, which includes the mandatory £5 million minimum cover dictated by law.

We first chose a few popular small businesses to represent different levels of risk to employees (caterer, cleaner and builder) then gathered quotes for different business structures: a sole trader and a limited company with 1 director.

The figures in this study reflect basic employers' liability cover only, without any cover for public liability, tools, stock, legal cover, personal accident cover, etc. (coverages that many companies will choose to buy in addition to employers' liability cover). It is common for businesses to buy a combined policy, that can include employers' liability insurance together with public liability insurance and other types of business cover.

For these tests, we gathered prices from a leading small business insurer, since they provide cover for a large segment of the market and should therefore be a good indicator of prices paid in the UK.

Insurance quotes can vary significantly from business to business, from insurer to insurer, and even from day to day, so you may find the cost to buy employers' liability insurance is significantly lower or higher than the figures mentioned in this study. Please use the data presented here for educational purposes only.