Gary Chambers, managing director professional risks, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, outlines two types of insurance that centres and trainers should consider.
Public liability and professional indemnity insurance
In any profession you will be required to carry insurance to protect your business and provide evidence to your clients that there is cover for loss or damage caused to them whilst you are providing them with your services.
With regards to professionals who provide any form of training, in particular training on manual handling, there are two main insurance policies that you should have – public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance.
Public liability insurance
This type of insurance cover provides financial protection to your business in the event that you cause physical loss or damage to a third party or their property.
Professional indemnity insurance
This insurance protects your business in the event that a third party suffers a financial loss as a result of errors or omissions in advice or professional negligence on your part.
Example situations
A trainer is visiting a company’s business premises to provide training to a group. On arriving at the premises the trainer accidentally damages property that belongs to company.
A trainer providing guidance on manual handling asks an individual from the group to practice lifting an item. Whilst under the trainer’s instruction, the individual hurts their back. In both examples, the trainer could be found liable for causing damage or injury and could face a large claim from the company or individual.
The first example would be classed as a public liability claim, as the trainer has caused damage to property belonging to a third party and will be directly responsible for the repair or replacement of the item damaged.
In the second example, the trainer has not caused the injury through an action, but through an error in the advice given to the individual who attempted the lift. This would be classed as a professional indemnity claim due to negligent or incorrect advice given by the trainer.
There is a clear difference between the two examples, but when an incident has occurred the circumstances surrounding the event could be far more complicated. The decision as to whether the claim should be made under a professional indemnity or a public liability policy could be an issue, so it is always recommended that policies for the two types of insurance are taken out.
To discuss any of the details above, or for advice on your insurances please contact Jardine Lloyd Thompson on 0333 2401 750 and quote CIEH.
Disclaimer
Whilst all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this article no liability is accepted under any circumstances by Jardine Lloyd Thompson for any loss or damage occurring as a result of reliance on any statement, opinion, or any error or omission contained herein. Any statement or opinion reflects our understanding of current or proposed legislation and regulation that may change without notice.
The content of this article should not be regarded as specific advice in relation to the matters addressed.