Public Liability Insurance - Whos best/Cheapest?

[photoshop]

Seems like my agency has changed its ruled and now every limited company MUST have PLI so, im in need of some cover (not that i will ever need it).

I work in Civil Engineering and Construction.

Who's the best and cheapest to get cover from?

And am i right in saying this should be taken from money from the business account as its an expense to the business?

I ask because i've been at my current contract for more than 3yrs and from what i understand, you have to stop claiming expenses after 2yrs.

 

[Bar]

First point would be to get an accountant - their advise and support is worth far more than their cost (assuming you get a good one).

Secondly you have a limited company so you can bill expenses as long as you incur them.

Thirdly, from what you have described I would be wary over IR35 complications.

Fourth, I use simply business and have £2m Public / Product Liability and it cost £50. I do however work in Financial Services so I would expect mine to be a lot less than yours.

 

[photoshop]

First point would be to get an accountant - their advise and support is worth far more than their cost (assuming you get a good one).

Secondly you have a limited company so you can bill expenses as long as you incur them.

Thirdly, from what you have described I would be wary over IR35 complications.

Fourth, I use simply business and have £2m Public / Product Liability and it cost £50. I do however work in Financial Services so I would expect mine to be a lot less than yours.

I've got an accountant and have had one from day 1.

Are you sure you can claim expenses as long as you claim them? The consensus is after 2yrs you must stop claiming expenses or HMRC will come knocking. Its the HMRC 2yr rule.

 

[applecrumble]

I work in Civil Engineering and Construction.

Who's the best and cheapest to get cover from?

I have my insurance through Ashburnham Insurance but I'm a self employed builder by trade. In my experience no one company is "the best and cheapest" for everyone. I would try and find others in the same trade as you (there may be some on this forum) and ask them as their advice would be best.

A few of my friends are also with Ashburnham but some are with Simply (unfortunately none of them are civil engineers). Think it all boils down to your trade and the number of people in your business.

 

[Bar]

I've got an accountant and have had one from day 1.

Are you sure you can claim expenses as long as you claim them? The consensus is after 2yrs you must stop claiming expenses or HMRC will come knocking. Its the HMRC 2yr rule.

I would love to understand more about this 2yr rule as I have been unable to track anything down.

The other point to note is that you would not be paying for the public liability insurance - your company would. Should anything happen it is your company that would be sued - not you as an individual. It is not an expense per se it is a material cost of running your business. Not sure if things are different in the construction industry but I would be surprised if they were.

 

[StevieP]

Public liability insurance is not a legal requirement but as you rightly say, the businesses you work for can insist on you having it before they do business with you.

Regards to who is the best and cheapest (contradiction in terms btw ) - I'd recommend trying a local commercial insurance broker and take their advice on the cover you need! In my experience its not a good idea to "just do it on the internet" as you will never know what you are (and more importantly, what you arent) covered for unless you read some stupidly long policy wording! (which no-one ever does!)

Its difficult to say from your description but you might want to check if you need Professional Indemnity insurance as well as the public liability and one other important point is that if you have ANYONE working for the company, even if its just a company secretary other than yourself, you MUST HAVE Employers Liability as its a legal requirement.

Hope this helps, feel free to post back if you want any further info as I work in commercial insurance.

Cheers,

StevieP