Concerns raised about liability bureau plans
Commercial insurance
19th February 2010
Proposals by the government to create a new Employers' Liability Insurance Bureau (ELIB) will force firms to pay for uninsured competitors.
This is the view of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which has stated that it is "opposed in principle" to the plans, published in a consultation paper by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
According to the organisation's director of general insurance and health Nick Starling, insurers pay out £1.5 billion per year in compensation to employers' liability claimants, with more than 98 per cent able to make a claim if their work has led to injury or disease.
He added that the ABI Tracing Code was established a decade ago to provide redress for those attempting to trace an employer or their insurer in order to submit a claim.
"Such a fund could also encourage some employers not to bother with insurance, or to take the health and safety of their employees less seriously," Mr Starling warned.
The DWP has stated that the proposed ELIB would include a "fund of last resort" for those unable to track down the liability insurance policies of employers.
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