When we start a business, or create a company, there are a number of things we know in advance, and many others that will be new to us. Taking out Civil Liability and Accident insurance will probably be among the latter. We will see why it is of utmost importance to insure our workers correctly.
Why should we know what insurance affects our workers?
These are the reasons that justify it:
- Because, as employers, we must know which insurances we are obliged to take out; and our sectoral agreement may oblige us to do so.
- Because, if we do not subscribe to them, we are exposed to a sanction.
- Because, if we do not hire them, the required compensation will come out of our pocket.
As we can see, the risks of not knowing them are clear.
What are the insurances that protect our personnel?
We must know the difference between two policies and the guarantees that, in the event of a fatality occurring to one of our employees, will apply:
1. Civil Liability insurance and its Employer’s Liability guarantee.
This guarantee in the event of death or permanent disability due to a work-related reason (illness or accident), provides protection for the employer who, due to negligence, may be liable for compensation in favor of the worker or his heirs. A very clear example of this is a failure in the prevention of occupational hazards, which can be blamed on the company.
We always recommend that the sub-limit per victim should be at least €300,000.
2. Convention Accident Insurance
More than 90% of the sectoral agreements require the employer to take out an insurance policy in favor of its employees, with a death and disability capital sum, which usually ranges around €20,000-40,000.
Main differences between accident insurance and workers’ comp insurance
The form of payment of the indemnity is totally different:
- The capital subscribed in the accident insurance is paid directly to the family or to the employee, if the circumstance insured in the policy occurs; since it is a right that the negotiated agreement offers to the employees of the sector.
- On the other hand, the indemnity that comes from the civil liability insurance, will only be payable if the company has committed some type of negligence that causes the death or disability of the employee. And, in addition, it will always be compensated after the family has filed a claim or lawsuit against the company.
As we can see, we are talking about two essential policies and guarantees, since, otherwise, these amounts may rise in some cases to more than 300,000 € of compensation that will have to come out of our pocket if we do not take out the insurance.
If you need advice on your business insurance, contact us so we can help you. At PIB Group Iberia e Inversión, we have more than 25 years of experience advising businessmen.
