Yurt Hire Companies

Employers have a legal obligation to carry Employers Liability Insurance which indemnifies the employer in respect of injury to its employees for which it is legally responsible. An employee is deemed to be any individual under a contract of service or apprenticeship with the insured, whether the contract is actual or implied.

There is a common misconception that Employers Liability is not required for subcontracted labour. For Marquee Companies this is invariably not the case because under the terms of the relevant law, if the employer has direct control over the activities of such persons or provides tools or equipment for them to use, then the employer can be liable. Employers Liability is not normally required in respect of ‘Bona Fide’ contractors, who will complete a given job without supervision, using their own tools and equipment. Typically, these jobs will form part of the overall contract, for example, provision of an erected marquee, installation of lighting or sound systems, or catering. It is important to ensure that these contractors have their own appropriate insurance cover in force.

The legal penalties of failing to effect adequate Employers Liability insurance are severe, but perhaps even more significant are the implications of the potential cost of a successful claim against an uninsured company. In an increasingly litigious society, personal injury claims are becoming frequent and of greater magnitude.

Although not a legal requirement, Public Liability Insurance is essential no matter how small or large your business and is particularly important for businesses that work with or come into close contact with members of the public. Public Liability protects your business against legal liability claims arising from injury to third party person or damage to third party property where you are proven negligent. Incidents can occur anywhere and at any time, from an employee carrying a marquee pole and accidentally knocking over a garden ornament to a client visiting the office and tripping over a loose bit of carpet and breaking their wrist.

Following a loss of equipment or premises, a business may not be able to trade as normal until a replacement has been made.

At the beginning of the marquee season, the production lead time of suppliers can be lengthy, causing a major disruption. Business Interruption insurance enables a company to claim for resultant loss of ‘Gross Profit’ or ‘revenue’ relating to contracts which it cannot complete. The insurer can often minimise the claim by enabling the insured to complete contracts by funding the temporary hire or replacement equipment, i.e. the increased cost of working. This is also beneficial to the marquee company as their clients will not be let down, enabling future repeat business and recommendations.

Equipment can be insured on an Indemnity Basis (second hand value) or on a Reinstatement Basis (new for old). In the marquee industry, due to a relatively low availability of second-hand equipment and a need to buy compatible replacement equipment, it is normally advisable to choose the Reinstatement Basis.

Regardless of which option is chosen, the ‘Sum insured’ should accurately reflect the value at risk. Therefore, if you do hire in additional equipment and find you are being held contractually responsible for its loss or damage, it is prudent to include a ‘Goods in Trust’ figure in the sums insured.

Indemnity period is defined as the period during which the business is affected by the loss and that indemnity period can only be decided by the business itself. As a business you should consider how long it will take to get the business back to its position prior to the interruption taking into account the type of business, lead times to replace stock and even keeping your valuable employees and customers. For example, a shop has a fire and is unable to trade. If it takes 24 months to rebuild that shop, 12 months indemnity would not be enough.

As standard our Policy Wordings automatically include in the Stock section cover for hired in stock for which you are contractually responsible.  Therefore your Stock Sums Insured should include an allowance for hired in stock.

No. However, we recognise MUTA as the leading Trade Association for the Temporary Structure Industry, and their Best Practice Guide as an Industry benchmark.

Click here for specialist products and services for Temporary Structure Hirers.