Public Liability Insurance as a Partnership

[MMarshall]

Pricing up likely new startup costs for a 2 man partnership atm & wondering if PLI can be covered for both partners under a LLP business structure, rather than going down the single employer + employee route for liability insurance.

 

Anyone have experience of insuring their business along these lines ?

[htb]

Wife and myself have always run as a partnership and both covered under PL, now have EL as well due to bringing in more labour to help out as we are getting older, let the young take up the slack.

[MMarshall]

29 minutes ago, htb said:

Wife and myself have always run as a partnership and both covered under PL, now have EL as well due to bringing in more labour to help out as we are getting older, let the young take up the slack.

Sounds like Ltd Partnership is a viable option for negating need for EL 👍🏼 does it save much on insurance costs compared with EL ? Any recommendations on insurer ?

Edited June 29, 2022 by MMarshall

[htb]

No idea re costs, I just pay it. 

When we started we just had PL for ourselves and winged it on larger jobs with extra bodies on site.

As times moved on for bigger more pernickety customers who were more likely to ask awkward questions we started having EL and continued since, also gives peace of mind. Never bothered with equipment or hired in plant insurance as we are of a certain age and where you live and work.

[Dan Maynard]

Worth pointing out EL is a legal requirement except certain narrow cases such as being related, I think in your case the LLP (akin to a company) would take out the insurance policy in the LLP name and cover you both. Employee in this sense is different to the tax status, it covers nearly everyone including volunteers.

 

You're bound to want more people on a job at some point anyway.

 

Budget wise, I only operate part time and insurance is my biggest overhead - truck, hired in plant, EL, PL. I would also suggest some professional indemnity insurance, mine is bundled in. It's over 2k for that lot, obviously depends on turnover and what plant.

[MMarshall]

Makes sense

 

As you say - insurance is your biggest overhead - which for a startup of just 2 is really the main issue. Cash flow is obviously the biggest issue early on 

 

2k is obviously a significant wedge for a new startup of just 2 guys especially if that's just part time. Is 2k just for yourself + ad hoc employees as & when needed? What sort of turnover?

Edited June 30, 2022 by MMarshall

[Dan Maynard]

2 hours ago, MMarshall said:

Makes sense

 

As you say - insurance is your biggest overhead - which for a startup of just 2 is really the main issue. Cash flow is obviously the biggest issue early on 

 

2k is obviously a significant wedge for a new startup of just 2 guys especially if that's just part time. Is 2k just for yourself + ad hoc employees as & when needed? What sort of turnover?

The biggest chunk is plant insurance, when I started think the EL + PL was around £600. Ring Trust Insurance and ask them, they know the industry and your situation is far from unique. I found the other companies (Arborisk, Tree Surgeon Insurance) less geared up to someone part time so their quotes were higher but you need to do the legwork, get on the blower and find out the situation now. Maybe we're all in for a shock next renewal.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Dan Maynard
Arborisk

[MMarshall]

1 minute ago, Dan Maynard said:

The biggest chunk is plant insurance, when I started think the EL + PL was around £600. Ring Trust Insurance and ask them, they know the industry and your situation is far from unique. I found the other companies (Arborists, Tree Surgeon Insurance) less geared up to someone part time so their quotes were higher but you need to do the legwork, get on the blower and find out the situation now. Maybe we're all in for a shock next renewal.

👍🏼Good chat