Self-Employed Injury: Does Insurance Cover Legal Breaches?
Self-Employed Injury: Does Insurance Cover Legal Breaches?
This article is part of our self-employed injury risk series.
In the earlier articles, we looked at different ways responsibility can arise when a self-employed person is involved in an accident at work.
First, we looked at whether the person is genuinely self-employed, or whether they have only been labelled that way. If the work is controlled, directed and organised by another business, the relationship may be closer to employment or “akin to employment”. In that situation, responsibility may not sit with the self-employed person alone.
Second, we looked at what happens if the person is genuinely self-employed. In that situation, responsibility may switch back to the self-employed person. They may need to think not only about their own injury, but also whether someone else could be injured because of their work, tools, method or mistake.
Third, we looked at common calling and undertaking. If you are genuinely self-employed and hired for your skill, you may be expected to understand and manage ordinary risks connected with your own trade or the work you agreed to undertake.
Fourth, we looked at client premises. Even if you are genuinely self-employed, you may still be injured because of unsafe premises, hidden hazards, inadequate warning or poor site management.
Fifth, we looked at what happens if you bring in another self-employed person, helper, substitute or subcontractor. If you control their work, responsibility may become more complicated.
Self-Employed Injury: Does Insurance Cover Legal Breaches?
This article looks at the sixth issue:
Does insurance cover legal breaches if a self-employed person is injured at work?
The short answer is:
Not always.
Insurance may help with some financial consequences of an accident, but it does not automatically cover every injury, every unsafe working method, every statutory breach, every reporting failure, every criminal issue or every excluded activity.
For practical advice on self-employed injury risks, contracts, insurance and responsibility, visit: Self-Employed Injury Risks
Insurance is important, but it is not magic
Many self-employed people treat insurance as the final answer.
They think: I have insurance, so I am protected.
That may be true in some situations, but it is not safe to assume.
Insurance depends on the exact policy wording.
A policy may include exclusions, limits, conditions, notification duties and definitions of covered work. It may cover one type of risk but not another. It may protect against a civil claim but not against criminal fines, HSE enforcement, statutory breaches, uninsured subcontractors or work outside the policy description.
Insurance can be part of protection.
But it is not a replacement for safe work, proper contracts, clear responsibility, legal compliance and evidence.
First question: what type of insurance are you talking about?
Different policies do different jobs.
A self-employed person may need to think about more than one type of cover.
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance may help if your work causes injury or damage to someone else.
For example, it may be relevant if:
a client trips over your equipment;
a member of the public is injured because of your work;
you damage a client’s property;
your tools or materials create a hazard;
someone says your work caused injury or damage.
But public liability insurance is usually not the same as personal accident cover.
It may not cover your own injury or loss of income if you cannot work.
It may also be subject to exclusions.
Personal accident cover
Personal accident cover may help if you are injured and cannot work.
That can be important for self-employed people because there may be no employer sick pay, no ordinary employment protection, and no automatic income replacement.
But personal accident cover may also be limited.
It may not cover every accident.
It may exclude certain trades or activities.
It may require medical evidence.
It may limit the payment period.
It may exclude pre-existing conditions.
It may not cover illness, gradual injury, stress, or injury caused by excluded work.
The policy wording matters.
Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance may be relevant if your work involves advice, design, inspection, certification, consultancy or professional services.
It may help where a client suffers loss because of a professional mistake.
But it is not the same as public liability insurance.
It may not cover manual work.
It may not cover bodily injury in the same way.
It may not cover every type of service.
A self-employed consultant, designer, adviser, engineer, inspector or professional contractor should check whether professional indemnity cover is needed separately.
Employers’ liability insurance
Some self-employed people assume employers’ liability insurance is irrelevant because they are self-employed.
That may be true if they genuinely work alone.
But the position may change if you employ staff, use labour-only workers, use helpers, or have people working under your control.
If you use a helper, substitute or subcontractor, do not assume your existing policy covers them.
That issue is discussed in more detail here:
Insurance may not cover statutory breaches
A very important misunderstanding is this:
Insurance is not permission to breach the law.
A policy may help with some civil claims for compensation.
But it may not cover statutory breaches, criminal fines, regulatory enforcement, deliberate or reckless conduct, or failure to comply with legal duties.
If you are self-employed and injured at work, or if someone else is injured because of your work, there may be more than a civil claim.
There may also be:
HSE investigation;
RIDDOR reporting issues;
health and safety enforcement;
improvement or prohibition notices;
criminal prosecution;
driving enforcement;
vehicle prohibition;
operator licence issues;
regulatory action;
insurance disputes;
contract disputes.
This is why the question should not only be:
Do I have insurance?
The better question is:
Does my insurance cover this specific risk, and have I complied with the law and policy conditions?
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the main health and safety law in Great Britain.
For self-employed people, the key point is that health and safety duties may still apply in some situations.
This is especially important if your work creates risk to other people.
For example, risk may arise to:
clients;
visitors;
members of the public;
other contractors;
workers on site;
drivers;
occupiers;
neighbours;
customers;
passengers;
people near your work area.
A self-employed person should not assume that being self-employed removes all health and safety obligations.
If your work creates risk to others, statutory duties may need to be considered.
RIDDOR reporting
RIDDOR deals with reporting certain work-related injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences.
After a serious accident, the question may not only be who pays compensation.
There may also be a reporting question.
Depending on the circumstances, the responsible person may be an employer, a self-employed person, or the person in control of work premises.
This matters because a self-employed person working on a client site may not always know who has the reporting duty.
It may depend on who controlled the work, who controlled the premises, who employed or engaged the injured person, and what happened.
Insurance does not remove RIDDOR duties.
A failure to report may create a separate problem.
CDM 2015 and construction work
For construction, refurbishment, repair, maintenance and building work, the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015 can be very important.
CDM 2015 can apply widely.
It may affect:
contractors;
subcontractors;
individual self-employed workers;
clients;
principal contractors;
principal designers;
construction workers;
people who manage or control construction work.
This can matter for small builders, tradespeople, roofers, electricians, plumbers, decorators, installers, maintenance workers and domestic refurbishment work.
A self-employed person may think:
I am just doing a small job.
But construction-related work may still bring duties about planning, managing, competence, site safety, cooperation, information and risk control.
Insurance does not automatically cover breaches of CDM duties.
If there is an accident, there may be questions about who planned the work, who controlled the site, who managed the risk, whether the work was organised safely, and whether statutory duties were followed.
Work at height
Work at height is one of the most obvious risk areas for self-employed people.
It can affect:
roofers;
builders;
window cleaners;
decorators;
sign installers;
maintenance workers;
scaffold users;
tree workers;
delivery workers unloading at height;
people using ladders, platforms or fragile surfaces.
If a self-employed person is injured after falling, insurance may not be the only issue.
There may be questions about planning, equipment, training, supervision, access, fragile surfaces, ladders, edge protection and whether the work could have been done more safely.
If the policy excludes certain work at height, or requires specific precautions, cover may also become disputed.
PUWER: tools, plant and work equipment
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations are relevant to work equipment.
This can include tools, machinery, plant, lifting equipment, vehicles used as work equipment, power tools, ladders, workshop equipment and other equipment used at work.
For self-employed people, this matters because many accident risks involve equipment.
Examples include:
defective tools;
unguarded machinery;
unsuitable equipment;
lack of maintenance;
unsafe ladders;
unsafe power tools;
poor training;
incorrect use of equipment;
failure to inspect equipment.
Insurance may not cover every accident involving unsafe equipment, especially if policy conditions or statutory duties were breached.
Manual handling
Manual handling can affect a wide range of self-employed work.
This includes:
couriers;
removal workers;
builders;
cleaners;
carers;
warehouse workers;
delivery drivers;
market traders;
installers;
tradespeople carrying materials.
Injury may happen because of lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, twisting, repetitive movement or poor handling systems.
Personal accident cover may help in some cases, but it may not cover every manual handling injury, especially gradual injuries, pre-existing conditions, excluded activities or work outside the policy wording.
There may also be wider questions about whether the work was planned safely and whether assistance or equipment should have been used.
COSHH: chemicals, dust, fumes and substances
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations can be important for many self-employed people.
This may include:
cleaners;
painters;
decorators;
mechanics;
builders;
plasterers;
welders;
beauty workers;
gardeners;
pest control workers;
manufacturing contractors;
people exposed to dust, fumes, solvents, sprays or chemicals.
Insurance may not deal with the regulatory problem if hazardous substances were used without proper precautions, information, ventilation, PPE, assessment or control measures.
It may also not cover gradual exposure, long-term illness or excluded substances depending on the policy.
LOLER and lifting operations
Lifting operations and lifting equipment can create serious accident risks.
This may affect:
construction workers;
mechanics;
warehouse contractors;
delivery companies;
scaffolders;
tree workers;
equipment installers;
people using hoists, cranes, forklifts or lifting accessories.
If lifting equipment fails, or if a lifting operation is poorly planned, there may be statutory and regulatory issues as well as civil liability.
Insurance may not automatically cover a breach of lifting equipment duties, unsafe planning, uninspected equipment or excluded operations.
Driving, HGV and tachograph issues
Self-employed injury risk is not only about building sites and trades.
Drivers, couriers and transport workers also need to think about regulation.
This can include:
drivers’ hours;
tachograph rules;
HGV requirements;
operator licence issues;
vehicle maintenance;
load security;
roadworthiness;
loading and unloading safety;
mobile phone offences;
careless driving;
dangerous driving;
speeding;
fatigue;
unsafe routes or delivery pressure.
For goods vehicles, GOV.UK provides guidance on drivers’ hours and tachographs, including which rules apply in different situations. Tachograph rules are particularly relevant for vehicles within scope of drivers’ hours rules.
Insurance may not cover every problem if an accident involves unlawful driving, excluded vehicle use, poor maintenance, overloading, insecure loads, driving outside permitted hours, or a failure to comply with transport rules.#
A motor policy, public liability policy and goods-in-transit policy may all do different things.
They should not be confused.
Gas, electrical, asbestos and other specialist duties
Some trades involve specialist legal duties.
Examples include:
gas safety;
electrical safety;
asbestos;
fire safety;
food hygiene;
waste carriage;
environmental duties;
product safety;
vehicle compliance;
sector-specific licensing or registration.
If your work falls into a regulated area, insurance may not protect you from the consequences of carrying out work unlawfully, outside competence, outside registration, or in breach of specialist rules.
This is especially important where the work is high-risk or affects public safety.
What insurance may exclude
Every policy is different, but common issues may include:
work outside the stated business description;
excluded trades;
height limits;
depth or excavation limits;
heat work;
roofing work;
demolition;
asbestos;
gas or electrical work without proper qualification;
professional advice;
defective workmanship;
product defects;
contractual liability;
deliberate or reckless acts;
criminal fines;
punitive penalties;
uninsured subcontractors;
labour-only subcontractors;
failure to check subcontractor insurance;
failure to follow safety conditions;
failure to notify the insurer promptly;
lack of risk assessments;
lack of maintenance records;
unsafe systems of work;
vehicle use not covered by the policy.
This is why the policy wording matters.
The certificate of insurance is not enough.
You need to understand the schedule, exclusions, endorsements, conditions and definitions.
Example: self-employed builder
A self-employed builder has public liability insurance.
They carry out refurbishment work.
Someone is injured because of a poorly managed work area.
The builder may assume the policy will deal with everything.
But the insurer may ask:
Was the work within the policy description?
Was the builder carrying out construction work subject to CDM duties?
Were risk controls in place?
Were helpers or subcontractors used?
Were they insured?
Was work at height involved?
Were policy conditions followed?
Was the accident caused by defective workmanship?
Was there a statutory breach?
Insurance may still respond in some cases, but it should not be assumed.
Example: self-employed delivery driver
A self-employed delivery driver is injured while loading or unloading.
The issue may involve several different risks:
road traffic insurance;
goods vehicle rules;
public liability;
manual handling;
site safety;
loading bay safety;
personal accident cover;
vehicle maintenance;
fatigue or drivers’ hours;
accident reporting.
If someone else is injured, the question may become more complicated.
Was it a driving accident?
Was it a loading accident?
Was the load unsafe?
Was the vehicle insured for that use?
Was the driver complying with the relevant rules?
Was the loading area controlled by the client?
Insurance may not be one simple answer.
Example: self-employed cleaner
A self-employed cleaner may have public liability insurance.
If a visitor slips because the cleaner left a wet floor without warning, public liability may be relevant.
But if the cleaner is injured because of chemicals, unsafe premises, broken stairs or exposure to hazardous substances, other issues may arise.
The relevant questions may include:
Was the cleaner genuinely self-employed?
Was the risk created by the cleaner’s own method?
Was the risk caused by the client’s premises?
Was COSHH relevant?
Was the product used safely?
Was there proper warning?
Was the injury covered by personal accident insurance?
Did the public liability policy cover injury to others only?
Again, the answer depends on the facts and policy wording.
Insurance does not remove criminal or regulatory risk
This is the central point.
Insurance may help with a civil claim.
It may help pay compensation, legal defence costs or property damage, depending on the policy.
But it does not make unlawful conduct lawful.
It does not remove health and safety duties.
It does not remove reporting duties.
It does not stop the HSE, police, DVSA, local authority or another regulator becoming involved where relevant.
It may not pay criminal fines.
It may not protect against enforcement notices.
It may not protect against licence consequences.
It may not protect against reputational damage.
It may not protect against losing work because a client requires compliance documents you do not have.
Practical checklist before relying on insurance
Before starting self-employed work, ask:
Am I genuinely self-employed on this job?
Who controls the work?
Who controls the premises?
What duties apply to my trade?
Is the work construction-related?
Does CDM 2015 apply?
Is there work at height?
Am I using work equipment?
Are chemicals, dust, fumes or hazardous substances involved?
Is there manual handling risk?
Am I driving, delivering, loading or using an HGV?
Are drivers’ hours or tachograph rules relevant?
Am I using helpers, substitutes or subcontractors?
Are they insured?
Does my insurance cover them?
Does my policy cover my own injury?
Does my policy cover injury to others?
Are there exclusions for this work?
Are there policy conditions I must follow?
Could RIDDOR reporting apply?
Could there be regulatory or criminal consequences?
What evidence will show I acted safely?
If you cannot answer those questions, you may not know what protection you actually have.
Need advice about self-employed injury risks?
Self-employed injury risk is not only about whether you can claim compensation.
It is about understanding where responsibility sits and whether you are protected before something goes wrong.
That may involve:
employment status;
vicarious liability;
accident responsibility;
common calling;
undertaking;
occupiers’ liability;
unsafe premises;
substitutes and helpers;
public liability insurance;
personal accident cover;
statutory safety duties;
RIDDOR reporting;
driving and transport rules;
contract protection.
For practical advice on self-employed injury risks, responsibilities, contracts and insurance protection, visit: Self-Employed Injury Risks
Final point
If you are self-employed and injured at work, do not assume insurance covers everything.
Public liability may not cover your own injury.
Personal accident cover may not cover every loss of income.
Professional indemnity may not cover manual work.
Motor insurance may not cover every business use.
A policy may not cover excluded work, uninsured helpers, unsafe methods, breaches of conditions, statutory breaches, criminal fines or regulatory consequences.
The safest approach is simple:
Check the work.
Check the risk.
Check the legal duties.
Check the policy wording.
Check before work starts.
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