Working at height has often been an issue for many insurers. There answer is simple. They will look to put warranties on the contractors policy that will not pay out if work is carrier out beyond a certain height. However, is that the right approach?
Dean Surridge, Head of Contractors at Incorporated Insurance Group Ltd (IIGL), outlines his approach ‘Some carriers will look to restrict their policies to limit the work undertaken at height. In general, many of the composites will incorporate a limit of 10m whereas some of the more specialist contractors markets will extend this up to a height of 15 metres. It’s still quite a height but often difficult for business to restrict their contracts within these tight limits. This will therefore often lead to contractors not having cover for work over this height’.
Dean continues ‘At IIGL, we have spent a lot of time understanding our client’s needs and that’s why we have created a policy that can be issued without any height limit for well managed businesses that understand their risks. We have spent a lot of time preparing an online Health and Safety website that helps our clients understand the issues created by working at height and helps them work their way through these. This leaves the Contractor free to take on all contracts without the worry that they may not be covered’.
Mike Smith, CEO of IIGL, added ‘It’s great to see that the significant investment we have made in our online Health & Safety website is actively helping our policyholders understand how to manage their risks and in turn provide our insurer partners with superior underwriting results’.