Posted By Raymond Rapp Barry It is a very good question. The purpose of Public Liability Insurance as you quite rightly point out, is to ensure 'third party' accidental injury or damage is covered. It is not unusual for Clients to request proof from contractors of their Employee and Public Liability Insurance. I am not so sure that your PLI will cover a contractor. Indeed, even if it does, your insurance company may seek redress from the contractor's insurance company arising from any claim. Hence requesting evidence of PLI from a contractor. This area of civil law is quite murky and as always it is often decided by the Court, based on the individual merit of the case. I will make some enquiries to see if I can find a definitive answer. Ray

Posted By Dave West The point is you have to prove you have assessed the competency of the contractor and although i do not know the ins and outs of the insurance legalities i know that i would not be wasting my time with this contractor. You are the customer and he wants your work my simple response would be sorry you will not be on my approved contractor list. Goodbye I have added a link below which will give you a bit more info on the insurance but this is off there "If a contractor works at your premises, eg a builder, they should have their own insurance to protect you and your property, while your PL insurance covers them." http://www.businesslink....OURCES&itemId=1074453484

Posted By Charley Farley-Trelawney A most interesting post. Look at it this way; if you don't care for the attitude of said contractor, simply don't use their services. As for the legalities, their own insurance for PL and EL is completely relevant to the work they undertake for you and with the latter they ain't got no choice, it is the law. As for PL, your own insurer would need to establish that due cause was the fault of the client, i.e. your company, if not it is simple, it is the contractors insurance that would meet the claim; an argument may ensure as to ultimate responsibility. One of the most important areas of consideration as indeed you have already shown is that the contractor has appropriate insurance for PL and your preferred level of cover, if you are uncertain ask your own insurers for confirmation, quite a few are now asking for 10 million with PL and a minimum of 10 million for EL. The contractor is incorrect to suggest that once in your care your insurance will cover them per se; this is not the case. CFT

Posted By Raymond Rapp I should have mentioned that in statutory law there is a shared responsibility between the contractor and client, unless it is explicit as for example the CDM regs. Therefore the contractor has no grounds to claim that when on your property you are responsible for his safety. You are BOTH responsible for safety.