Britain remains a safe place to work – but statistics demonstrate the value of liability insurance to UK business.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released the full 2016 statistics on injury and ill health at work recently. The report shows that injury and illness cost UK Plc £14.9b, with 31.2m working days lost.
Headline statistics included:
Top line statistics show that in 2016/17 there were;
- 137 fatal injuries in Britain’s workplaces
- 70,116 other injuries reported by employers
- 12,000 lung disease deaths estimated to be linked to past work exposures
- 554 cases prosecuted with fines from convictions totalling £69.9 million
Every single one of those figures effectively represents a potential public liability or employers liability insurance claim, bringing into sharp focus the reason why having adequate protection in place is vital for any UK business, but particularly for smaller businesses where a single claim could spell a financial disaster
Importance of good risk management procedures
HSE Chair Martin Temple observed the need for ‘a collective approach to improve workplace standards’. From our own position as commercial insurance brokers, we know that well managed businesses, with clear, documented employee guidelines and management practices are statistically less likely to face compensation claims (and associated legal costs) from members of the public and their own staff. Consequentially, they tend to be able to buy the appropriate business insurance for less.
Agriculture and construction sectors remain high risk
Delving into the detail behind the report, it can be seen that, perhaps not unsurprisingly, the agriculture industry is responsible for the most work place injuries, followed by the construction sector . These are both sectors where we have a significant client base and experience in helping our customers manage risk as well as ensuring that, from an insurance perspective, they are adequately protected.