An
announcement that there is to be a study into employers’ liability insurance by
the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has been welcomed by the Engineering
Employers Federation (EEF).
The
EEF, which has been campaigning for OFT referral, wrote in November to Melanie
Johnson MP, Competition and Markets Minister, to express concern that failure
in the market for compulsory Employers Liability Insurance (ELI) was driving
unprecedented premium rises of up to 400 per cent.
In
response to the OFT announcement, Martin Temple, director general at the EEF
said: "We believe there is clear evidence of failure in the market for
employers’ liability insurance and it is encouraging that the OFT has responded
quickly to our concerns.
"We
now look to government –
and in particular the Department of Work and Pensions‘ review of policy on employers
liability insurance –
to tackle the wider debate on the future of our current arrangements for
workplace compensation with
insurers and business.
"The OFT’s research
promises to make a significant impact on this debate."
EEF
research has shown that because insurers do not adequately share information
with each other on claims experience, firms looking for alternatives find
higher costs only, as
new providers load premiums for unknown risk.
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