Hi,
An agency is requiring me to have emp. liab. and public liab insurance as well prof. indemnity insurance, also stating in the contract i am reliable for any defects arising and deficiency to cover at my own cost.
Is it the normal practice across agencies? Or am i worrying too much?
Edited to add that i am going ltd
No it’s not normal,it’s just a way for them to make more money by placing all these insurance costs at your door,keep clear!
we as a lot of others do ask for public liability, the rest sounds very strange.
If you are PAYE with an agency, then legally they are the employer and the one that has to have employee insurance in place to cover you. If you are driving a vehicle for someone, then that vehicle has to be insured by the vehicle owner. The insurance has to cover everyone that is authorised to drive it.
There are no grey areas. Walk away from that agency if it regular PAYE. If you ltd company then different rules apply.
war1974:
we as a lot of others do ask for public liability, the rest sounds very strange.
So where is the border of what is covered by the agency insurance and what is supposed to be covered by mine public liability?
LIBERTY_GUY:
If you are PAYE with an agency, then legally they are the employer and the one that has to have employee insurance in place to cover you. If you are driving a vehicle for someone, then that vehicle has to be insured by the vehicle owner. The insurance has to cover everyone that is authorised to drive it.There are no grey areas. Walk away from that agency if it regular PAYE. If you ltd company then different rules apply.
Cheers, i am going to be ltd. So what are the rules then?
If you are ltd company you need public liability insurance as you then become a contractor rather than an employee. The professional indemnity insurance is a new one on me though? Then the term defects is very vague. If the engine or gearbox develops a fault will they be laying the blame at your door’ Likewise if they package an item incorrectly and it is found to be unusable at the other end, will they be trying to claim from you?
I’ve always gone PAYE that way no nasty surprises in the future.
Most comapnies like you going Ltd as it’s less hassle for them, but can be more for you!!!
pretty much as above although I don’t think I know anyone who has had to use their insurance.
don’t think it costs much and could possibly just be a box ticking exercise.
war1974:
pretty much as above although I don’t think I know anyone who has had to use their insurance.don’t think it costs much and could possibly just be a box ticking exercise.
So you ask for insurance but have no idea why or what for? Priceless.
To the OP, walk away from these fools and get a real agency to work for.
why is that an issue? I get advised by our legal department so am comfortable in the fact they deal day in day out with this sort of stuff what they are telling me is correct, or do you when in need of legal advice just post on here and accept a random answer?
I am aware what public liability is for as I have ran several businesses on my own, why an agency driver needs it if he is limited is where I don’t 100% know (the same as drivers who ask me for advice about ltd I am not a financial advisor so can only give what I think not possibly the best way if your looking to start up).
and as I said having worked for several of the biggest in the UK / World all ask for it, maybe you want to enlighten everyone?
The spit and sawdust answer is that companies want them in case they get sued. They can then recover their costs more easily than trying to take a man who has nowt to the cleaners.
HTH 
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=127785&p=1994330&hilit=public+liability+insurance#p1994330
this is my point about 5 different answers some who have taken advice others who have looked into it etc.
For the sake of repeating myself:
You DON’T need insurance, the agency is pulling a fast one & trying to offset any losses onto you. A lot of them now have slipped in their “contract” a £50K liability limit on losses. So you might want to read the contract (you know, the one no one reads
)
Any agency who insists on insurance… Walk away unless they are paying a much higher premium rates to offset your extra costs. But you should have stated in you terms of business (you did give the agy a copy of your T’s & C’s?) that you run on any assignment using both the agys & hauliers insurance.However it might be an idea to have some PLI but I’d be damned if I would tell anyone I’d got it. And keep it for those extremely rare events when the brown stuff hits the fan.
But those events are rare and you already have the limited liability aspect of you Ltd Co, so if things went belly up, just fold the company
IF any agency insists you have insurance before they’ll give you work, walk away
Let’s put it in basic facts:
IF an agy, haulier, or anyone else finds out you have insurance, they will try to ■■■■ ■■■■ you …
As your the lowest point / weakest link in the food chain, and someone’s gonna get the blaim/claim, & guess who it’ll be?
Which is why I advocate keeping your gob shut.
Beside spending money on insurance is money out of your pocket, despite the so called tax advantages… (VAT on insurance is on not applicable)
this is my point about 5 different answers some who have taken advice others who have looked into it etc.
So did I enlighten anyone 
What’s the agency called?
There have been a couple of driving jobs advertised recently, though an agency that clearly stated Umbrella or Limited Company only drivers. To me, this is where some agencies start to lose their integrity and professionalism.
I can remember doing driving work through agencies about 25 years ago, where PAYE was the only option. Nobody tried to charge you for processing your pay, no Mickey Mouse subsistence schemes (the so called salary sacrifice) that affect your pension rights if you fall below a threshold, no insisting you supplied your own PPE (itself borderline illegal) etc. Now it seems everyone wants to shaft the average working Joe, that just wants to go out to work and provide for their family.
Priest:
Hi,An agency is requiring me to have emp. liab. and public liab insurance as well prof. indemnity insurance, also stating in the contract i am reliable for any defects arising and deficiency to cover at my own cost.
Is it the normal practice across agencies? Or am i worrying too much?
Edited to add that i am going ltd
It is for Ltd with many agencies. Remember that as a Ltd Co its not individual as an employee but its a business to business arrangement so they can stipulate those as their terms of doing business with your company if they wish and its up to you to take it or leave it.
Very interesting discussion, thanks gents.
My T&C’s - should i just google and download the first on or can anyone recommend any specifi T&C’s?
if you are a company Limited by shares you can only be sued to the value of the shares, you can set up your company with a £1 share