As a broker, if your client’s business is based in Wales, no matter what industry they fall into, ensure that they have Management Liability cover. Why? For the many reasons we cover below.
Wales has the highest rates of fatal injuries
The HSE’s (Health & Safety Executive) ‘Exploration of the relationship between regional fatal injury rates and differences in industry composition’ annual statistics report from 2020 shows that, compared to the rest of the UK, Wales has the highest rate of fatal injuries, as well as the highest percentages of workers in the high-risk categories of their industry*.
The report also shows that industries such as Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, Construction, and Manufacturing had the highest number of fatal injuries since the HSE’s 2016 report**. Although the HSE’s ‘Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2022’ report shows that the number of people killed in the agricultural sector from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 fell in comparison to the previous year, the rate of fatal injuries in this sector remains the highest of all major industries***.
If we take into consideration both points, the message here is that you are, statistically, more likely to experience a fatal injury in the workplace if you work in the agricultural sector in Wales, compared to other industries. Therefore, employers not only need Employers’ Liability insurance but also cover that will protect them and their business when an employee suffers an unfortunate accident.
So close to Farm Safety Week this year, it was saddening to read that another two lives had been lost in the farming industry. The first incident involved a teenager who sadly died after suffering serious injuries while working on a farm in Plympton, while the other involved a three-year-old boy after a collision with a tractor on a farm in Tottington.
Naturally, the goal is to implement good risk management practices and protocols to reduce accidents happening at all but the unfortunate truth is that these types of accidents do happen, making it important for farming businesses to make sure they can evidence their risk management practices and have the support of a management liability policy like Rural Protect for when the worst does happen.
What can Rural Protect do for Welsh businesses?
Rural Protect provides cover for a wide range of businesses, from farms and tree surgeons to estates and equine businesses, whether they are limited companies, partnerships or sole traders. It really is a must-have for rural businesses, with benefits including, but not limited to:
- Cover for UK regulator investigation fees (e.g. HSE FFI and Environment Agency fees) and prosecutions costs
- Cover for all professional fees incurred to defend an allegation (e.g. barristers, accountants, expert witnesses)
- Access to a 24/7 crisis line should representation be needed
- Risk management and prevention support via online tools and templates
- It works with existing covers businesses may already have in place to provide a comprehensive insurance solution
- No prospect of success clause on claims
Rural Protect is far more than just Legal Expenses, with it covers areas such as:
- CAP Schemes – where issues arise with the level of payment
- Rent Arbitration – when an issue arises with a tenant
- Fraud – for accidental payments sent to a fraudster’s account
- Tax – including all types of HMRC investigations
- Family Legal Expenses – covering the households of each insured business director or owner
- Pursuit – pursuing a third party to recover money or put things right
- Brexit – if regulations change and they are not observed
In its technical form, Rural Protect is a Management Liability insurance policy that protects all individuals in the business and covers Personal Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Company Legal Liability and Family Legal Expenses.
Rural Protect provides proactive tools to help prevent situations like those outlined above, but should the worst happen, also gives the insured access to rradar, a specialist litigation and commercial law firm financed by the policy. rradar will act on the insured’s behalf in a whole host of scenarios such as accompanying them in a police interview, assisting when notifying regulators of an incident, or protecting against negative news and social media coverage.
rradar’s defence has already saved numerous businesses from claims costs they would have otherwise been liable for had they not been covered by Rural Protect. To give an example, when a fatal accident occurred on a farmyard due to a worker falling in front of a moving tractor, a prosecution case was brought forward by the HSE under Section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. The owner of the farm was insured by Rural Protect meaning rradar acted as their defence team. The outcome was that the prosecution fee was lowered to £37,000 and the HSE FFI to £6,050, both of which were paid for by the Rural Protect policy.
Protect your clients by raising awareness
Although written for Farm Safety Week, rradar’s guidance on farm safety and what to be aware of is a helpful and insightful piece. Read it here and share it with your clients to raise awareness about the level of risk to the agricultural sector and the safety measures available that can help to reduce it.
We also have a large variety of resources at HB Underwriting which can help frame the conversations you have with clients about Rural Protect and give some compelling reasons as to why a Management Liability Policy is a must-have – take a look at our ‘Let’s Talk Management Liability’ flyer, for example. Our resources will help remind you of the USPs that make Rural Protect such a highly recommended product for agricultural businesses.
If you want to ensure you have provided your client with comprehensive advice and cover, you should make sure that they have a Management Liability Policy in their insurance portfolio. If you require assistance on this, want to know more about Rural Protect, or would like to talk to us about how we can help you help your rural clients, please contact us on 01653 609090 or at enquiries@hbunderwriting.co.uk.
Sources:
* Exploration of the relationship between regional fatal injury rates and differences in industry composition, page 4. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/adhoc-analysis/updated-standardised-fatals.pdf
** Exploration of the relationship between regional fatal injury rates and differences in industry composition, page 3. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/adhoc-analysis/updated-standardised-fatals.pdf
*** Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain, page 2. https://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/pdf/agriculture-fatal-injuries-2022.pdf
