How much does employers’ liability insurance cost?

Establish what the price includes before treating it as your EL budget. A price for one section and the total for several sections answer different questions.

Price basis	What it means	What to establish
Employers’ liability alone	The price of the stated EL policy.	Whether the provider offers it separately and on what terms.
Cost of adding employers’ liability	The additional amount for adding EL to a specified policy or package.	What the underlying price includes and what the addition changes.
Combined package	The total for EL together with other sections.	Which sections and limits are included; do not label the total EL-only.

Simply Business currently describes EL as part of a tailored policy alongside public liability. Check whether a displayed figure is the package total or the additional cost of adding EL. Do not assume it is the price of EL alone or that standalone cover is available.

Do not subtract an unrelated public liability headline from a combined price to estimate the employers’ liability portion. If the package includes EL, do not count a separate EL price again. Our business insurance cost guide explains the wider budget.

Public liability and EL concern different claims, even when bought together. Our guide to public liability versus employers’ liability explains the distinction.

The insurer needs to understand who performs the work and what it involves. It may ask for wage roll, the workforce pay figure requested by the insurer. The information used and how it affects the offer vary.

Factor	Why it matters	What to prepare
Business activities	Different tasks create different injury and illness risks.	Actual services, locations and working conditions requested.
Workforce and duties	Numbers, roles, tasks and working arrangements describe who performs the work.	The information requested for each group.
Wage roll where requested	Pay information can help describe the work being insured.	Requested pay categories, figures and dates.
Claims history	Earlier claims and relevant known problems may affect offered terms.	Accurate information requested by the provider.
Policy terms	Limits, insured businesses and package sections change what is priced.	Required cover and existing arrangements.

Activities, roles and work settings

Example: office-based team. A small business has people carrying out administrative duties in an office. It should describe their tasks, workplaces and working arrangements alongside the number of people employed.

Example: manual team. A small business sends people to customer premises to carry out practical work. It should describe their tasks, equipment and working arrangements alongside the number of people employed.

These hypothetical examples show why insurers need different information. They do not indicate which business will pay less.

Wage roll and business information

Follow the insurer’s instructions on which payments to include and which period to use. If an estimate is requested, explain how you calculated it and ask how changes should be reported.

Do not assume a fixed payroll-based price or an automatic adjustment or refund. The staffing-changes section below explains what to check during the policy.

Claims history and selected cover

Provide the history and relevant information requested. It may affect the insurer’s assessment and terms, but does not establish a fixed premium or guaranteed discount.

Compare the limits, businesses insured and sections selected. A package change can affect the total even if employee numbers stay the same.

Multiplying the number of employees by a generic rate is not a reliable quote formula. Duties, working arrangements, pay categories, activities and policy terms can differ. Adding another person should not be assumed to produce the same increase each time.

Dividing a package price by the number of employees does not give you the insurer’s employers’ liability rate. The package may include other cover.

What if you only employ one person?

One employee can still create an insurance requirement and a potential claim. To get a meaningful quote, describe the person’s work, working arrangement and the cover required.

Low hours, temporary work or a self-employed label should not be treated as an automatic exemption. Our guide to employees and subcontractors explains the arrangements to check with the provider or appropriate adviser.

A published price can provide context if you know whose prices it measures and what they include. It is not a premium for every workforce.

Read the figure and price basis together

Use the footnote to distinguish these figures, then check whether they describe EL alone, an add-on or a package.

Figure type	What it establishes	What it does not establish
Mean	All prices in the stated group added together and divided by their number.	A universal business or per-worker price.
Median	The middle price when prices are arranged in order.	The mean of all prices or a personalised quote.
Price paid or quoted for a stated proportion of customers	Where that proportion’s prices fall, according to the explanation beside the figure.	A market minimum, maximum or universal average.
Example quote	A price for the described business and assumptions.	A forecast for another workforce.
Starting price	An advertised figure on the stated basis.	Guaranteed eligibility or an EL-only price.

Check the date and workforce behind it

Check:

• the businesses, locations, workforce and work involved;
• the cover included and relevant limits;
• the period when prices were collected;
• quotes versus purchased policies; and
• payment terms, charges and tax inclusion.

A recently updated article can still use old prices. Missing information makes the figure less useful for your budget.

Preserve applicable compulsory cover and any additional requirements when comparing prices. Check the required amount, then who and what the policy needs to cover.

Minimum cover and offered limits

Where compulsory EL insurance is required, the statutory minimum is £5 million for claims arising from any one occurrence, including related costs and expenses. This applies in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is a minimum requirement, not confirmation that the amount is sufficient for every business.

“Any one occurrence” concerns claims arising from the same occurrence, which may involve more than one employee.

Where compulsory cover is required, it must be arranged with an authorised insurer. Price alone does not establish that a policy meets the requirement.

The premium is the price of the insurance; the limit is the relevant maximum payable under its terms. The quote may offer a different limit from the legal minimum. Check it against applicable legal and contractual requirements rather than lowering it arbitrarily to meet a budget.

Our employers’ liability insurance page and guide to legally required business insurance explain the requirements and exemptions to check.

Relevant people, activities and insured businesses

Identify the businesses employing or engaging people and describe the actual working relationships. Labels such as director, family member, volunteer or subcontractor do not settle every legal or insurance question. Tax status alone is not decisive either.

Describe each working arrangement so the provider can assess how it should be treated.

Keep the required evidence of insurance available. Our insurance certificate guide explains that administration separately.

Check any employer contribution or repayment obligation

Some arrangements may require your business to repay money to the insurer. Compulsory EL has specific rules protecting employee compensation; an employer repayment obligation is different from reducing the compensation payable to the employee.

Do not assume an ordinary public liability-style excess can be increased to reduce the premium. Ask for specialist explanation of any reimbursement or recovery arrangement under the applicable law and actual terms.

A low premium may still leave the business with an agreed reimbursement obligation to the insurer. If the offer includes one, check its amount and conditions separately when assessing affordability.

Our guide to limits and excesses explains general terms; check compulsory EL arrangements separately.

Check whether the monthly figure is an actual instalment or simply the annual price divided by 12.

Use this table to identify the basis.

Presentation	Meaning	What to check
Annual payment	Price on the stated annual-payment basis.	Relevant fees and full total payable.
Annual price divided by 12	A monthly equivalent.	It is not necessarily an available payment schedule.
Actual instalment offer	The documented initial and later payments.	Amounts, payment count, charges and full total.

Record:

• the initial payment, including any deposit;
• the number and amounts of later payments;
• fees or interest;
• whether amounts include tax; and
• the total payable.

Check that the schedule agrees with the total without counting a deposit or charge twice. Do not assume twelve equal instalments, universal interest or a guaranteed saving from annual payment.

Simply Business currently states that monthly instalments involve interest. Check the actual offer’s schedule, charges and total payable.

Our business insurance cost guide covers wider budgeting and cash flow.

Compare the same business and intended cover as closely as possible while preserving required insurance. Use this sequence:

1. Give accurate workforce, wage roll and activity information.
2. Identify whether each price is for EL alone, an add-on or a combined package.
3. Check that each quote covers the same businesses, working arrangements and activities.
4. Compare limits, legal-cost treatment and important terms.
5. List any other cover included.
6. Compare the full payment total.
7. Ask the provider to explain unresolved differences before buying or changing cover.

Do not omit relevant workers, understate wage roll or remove required cover to reach a price. Check any employer repayment obligation as explained above.

Check what differs and whether it matters to your business. Our guide to comparing business insurance quotes explains the fuller process.

Review the policy when the workforce or work changes. The actual terms determine what needs reporting and how changes affect cover or price.

Changes during the policy

Ask about notification requirements for new employees, changes in duties, new activities, changes in wage roll and new subcontracting arrangements.

Follow the policy’s reporting process and confirm any agreed change and its start date. Ask whether estimates require later declarations or price adjustments. Do not assume free automatic inclusion, a fixed additional price or a refund when the workforce becomes smaller.

Our guide to business changes to tell your insurer about explains the wider review.

Reviewing a renewal

Compare the new and previous documents. Ask the provider to explain changes in price, cover or payment terms.

Check replacement cover and its start date before changing arrangements. Do not let required insurance lapse while comparing prices. Our business insurance renewal guide covers the full process.

Have these details ready when comparing quotes through Simply Business. Follow the actual application and clarify descriptions that do not fit your business.

• Business details and businesses to be insured.
• Activities, locations and relevant working conditions.
• People working for the business, their roles and arrangements.
• The pay categories, figures and dates requested for wage roll.
• Claims history and known problems that could lead to a claim.
• Required limits and contractual requirements.
• Existing cover, preferred start date and renewal details where relevant.
• Other sections being quoted alongside EL.

Business insurance requires a fair presentation of the risk. This generally means clearly disclosing material information the business knows or ought to know. Or, failing that, give enough information to alert the insurer that it needs to ask further questions.

Material information could influence whether a prudent insurer accepts the risk and on what terms. Answering application questions alone may not be enough.

Ask the broker or insurer if you are unsure what to disclose.

Requesting a quote does not start cover. Confirm the insurance and its start date before relying on it.