Hi all,
Week three of Self Employment and so far so good! I'm just working through a checklist I received from recent Business Link course and the topic of Insurance has come up. As someone who is going to be delivering a training and consultancy service out at clients' premises, the only work I'll be doing from home is research, course design, tenders, preparation etc. Is there a need for a trainer to have Public Liability and Public Indemnity?
The other question is around home and contents insurance. My buildings insurance is covered by my monthly service charge as I live in an apartment. However, as for home and contents, I wondered if this needed to be changed to cover recent equipment I've bought. My laptop I've always used for personal use and will take it out on the road with me. I've recently purchased a portable projector and a copier, scanner, fax, printer combo. I didn't want to alert my insurance company in case they "stung" me for no reason, but obviously want to do the right thing from the outset.
Thanks again for your help.
Best wishes,
Adrian.
4 Responses
Insure …
I don’t know about public liabilty, but as far as your belongings – carefully read your insurance contract (policy).
There will be a maximum cover per item, as well as a maximum cover for all. I once bought a very expensive bit of home entertainment kit and talked to my ‘man from the Pru’ about it. He said that I should pass all the details to the company, so that it would be listed – should it be stolen. It did not cost me any extra. I guess the loss adjusters are getting wise to all the number of Gold Rolex’s that were being ‘stolen’ in break-ins!
Let us know how you get on. Its a good question.
Ian
Insurances
Hi Adrian
A lot of companies will offer you combined liabilities with cover for professional idemnity, public liability and employers liability.
I would say you need insurance even if training on client premises.
Towergate and Westminster Indemnity are options.
A couple ofother things. If you are going to be holding client info on a computer you will probably need to get Data Protection registration with the Information Commissioner. Finally, if you are using an area at home as an office, say a bedroom that does not convert to general use as a bedroom at the end of the day you may be liable for Business Rates. The Valuation Office website is worth checking out.
Duncan
Insurance and equipment
Hi Adrian,
Good luck with your new life, I would be keen to hear the areas in which you train; I get asked for a variety of subjects that often I have to pass on. I will bear you in mind if you give me an indication of your specialist areas.
Anyway, back to the subject. I too take laptops etc on the road and into other people’s working environment. Ensure that they are PAT tested by a qualified electrician. You will have seen the sticky labels on electonic items in the workplace I am sure. By doing this, for a modest fee, you will/should be covered by the electrician’s indemnity insurance, in case you burn the clients property, burn a delegate through faulty equipment, your projector catches fire, electric shock from your equipment etc etc.
Worth bearing in mind.
Take care and once again, good luck.
Paul
http://www.paulabbottassociates.com
"delivering training throughout the Criminal Justice system"
Insurance
Hi Adrian (again),
I have just re read your question and spotted the question "do you need public and private indemnity insurance". You (with respect Sir) would be crazy to go into a classroom without it. As far as public liability insurance is concerned, despite you taking all reasonable steps to secure your electric cables in accordance with existing legislation and common sense, rest assured someone will manage to trip over them and hurt themselves. The private indemnity is a must, just in case there is an allegation that someone blames their gross negligence in the workplace on your training. The court case costs would/should be covered.
Furthermore, if you are working as a sub contractor for another company, the main company will expect to see, and have it included in the contract, that you have relevant insurance in place – and reserve the right to inspect it.
Kind regards,
Paul
http://www.paulabbottassociates.com
"delivering training throughout the Criminal Justice sysytem"