An agency is saying that they won’t give me any work until I take out Public Liability Insurance but they don’t seem to be able to tell me exactly what I should be insuring myself for. All they said was ’ as a self-employed lorry driver’
Surely whoever I drive for has insurance for the vehicle being driven so what aren’t they saying to me? If I make a mistake, damage the lorry or knock down a person, bridge or building, then wouldn’t that be covered by the vehicle insurance?
If they mean ‘excess insurance’ then that’s a whole different thing but that doesn’t seem to be what they want
Please help Obi Wans out there - you are all my only hope
good_friend:
I really don’t understand this request
An agency is saying that they won’t give me any work until I take out Public Liability Insurance but they don’t seem to be able to tell me exactly what I should be insuring myself for. All they said was ’ as a self-employed lorry driver’
Surely whoever I drive for has insurance for the vehicle being driven so what aren’t they saying to me? If I make a mistake, damage the lorry or knock down a person, bridge or building, then wouldn’t that be covered by the vehicle insurance?
If they mean ‘excess insurance’ then that’s a whole different thing but that doesn’t seem to be what they want
Please help Obi Wans out there - you are all my only hope
They want it so they can reduce the cost or pass on and costs to your walk and find another agency. Also draw up a statement of terms and conditions and hand it too them.
What’s your relationship with the agency? Employed, self employed, ltd co ? Are they trying to change this relationship?
What ever it is, if you’re supplying a service (insurance) shouldn’t your new rate be increased to cover this?
good_friend:
…’ as a self-employed lorry driver’ …
There’s a whole swirling mess around this very subject.
My honest advice is that you speak to a proper accountant f2f and explain the exact circumstances, which will then get you a good answer.
In my own case, I had to show that I have several clients, am able to decline work anytime if I wish, and provide my own kit for the job. It goes without saying that a self-employed person is responsible for their own Tax and NIC, so quite a few of my clients require me to complete a disclaimer which assures them that they won’t be liable for my Tax and NIC.
The key thing here is that, last time I checked, the definition of “self-employed” varies because DWP and HMRC each have (or had) their own slightly different criteria.
It’s best to be armed with good info before you agree to anything.
Surely if you are already working as self employed via the agency and you have agreed to this, probably because you were told your take home would be better, then you should have already taken out your own Public Liability Insurance.
One of the many pitfalls of being self employed. There’s been posts here in the past asking for advice due to self empolyed/Ltd drivers having a bump or damaging a load and being chased for the damages and the general response is that it’s your own fault for not taking out the relevant insurance. One thing to bear in mind is that just because a company has insurance they could claim against doesn’t mean they have to if it’s a result of you being negligent. Why would they? This is why when working as either self employed or through your own Ltd company you should have your own terms and conditions set out and agreed to in writing before undertaking work because other wise you are setting yourself up for upset later down the line.
P.S.
Just telling an agency to shove it is only going to result in you being dropped or being exposed to future problems should something happen.
Perhaps discussing going PAYE with the agency will be a better option. You’ll just have to live like the rest of us and pay the tax you’re supposed to…
The companies you drive for will have vehicle insurance, which will cover vehicle related incidents.
The agency is likely to have Public Liability Insurance, it maybe a requirement laid down by the agencies customers, so they’re not exposed to a non driving claim, but it might only cover the agency’s employees actions affecting 3rd parties, but if you’re self employed you’re not an employee you’re a separate business, this means their insurance or the companies public liability insurance is unlikely to cover you.
Trying to think of a non driving incident, maybe somebody tripping over your kit bag when you left in on the floor to while you get the keys or something like that. It might seem unlikely, but stranger things happen and people end up with claims against them for it.
I don’t see a Public Liability Insurer entertaining a Road Risk claim. They cover just about every other aspect of their insured’s activities. Unless excluded they may well cover damage caused in their client’s customer’s premises. Regardless, as self employed Public Liability Insurance is a must. Specific to the OP’s situation it would mean the result of his personal actions, so opening the cab door carelessly and injuring someone or perhaps having failed to secure a load which then injured someone.
None of the other agencies I work for have asked for this and they don’t seem to be able to explain exactly what I should be covering myself for
It’s £5 an hour diff to go PAYE and I already have a fully functioning LTD company complete with proper Accountant so I think the ‘FO’ answer is probably the best idea so far
I reckon it’s a perfectly reasonable request.
As you are not directly employed by the agency (s), their PL ins will not cover them for something you may do.
It’s not expensive, and all self employed people should have it.
It’s got me a free pass out of a tricky situation more than once over the years.
alix776:
Also draw up a statement of terms and conditions and hand it too them.
One which has terms which state neither you or any of your representatives are liable for any costs or losses arising from any of your actions as well as terms for payments with late payment penalties.
If you do a search on here you’ll find the ones I used floating around somewhere. They’re about as watertight as it can be.
As for public liability, its less than £100 for a few million of cover and is well worth having given the compensation culture in this country.
good_friend:
None of the other agencies I work for have asked for this and they don’t seem to be able to explain exactly what I should be covering myself for
I imagine the agency are just presenting a few hoops for their drivers to jump through in the expectation that many will fail, meaning that they don’t need to think up some excuse for dumping them when work goes flat in January/February.
Old John:
I reckon it’s a perfectly reasonable request.
As you are not directly employed by the agency (s), their PL ins will not cover them for something you may do.
It’s not expensive, and all self employed people should have it.
It’s got me a free pass out of a tricky situation more than once over the years.
I would keep a copy of the request, and use it later if necessary to prove that you are not self-employed, and the instruction is a facet of being under the control of the employer and acting on their instructions, same as if they told you that you needed to buy work boots, or pay a fee for the work, or sign a document claiming to be self-employed.
It’s best to be armed with good info before you agree to anything.