03/06/2024
Management Liability Insurance explained
For those whose lives do not revolve around insurance, you may be unfamiliar with what constitutes a ‘Management Liability’ policy. However, brushing up your knowledge on Management Liability Insurance is a good idea. These products are continually developing, so it’s important that your business is up to date with how to protect itself from the risks linked to its assets and people.
If you’re a little unsure, read on to get a Management Liability Insurance definition and learn about how this cover can protect your business.
What is Management Liability Insurance UK?
Management Liability Insurance (sometimes known as MLP) offers comprehensive cover that is designed to protect your senior management team and your business as a whole from claims of wrongful acts. These acts can include breaches of trust, negligence and discrimination.
Management Liability Insurance coverage therefore typically offers financial support for the cost of legal expenses, damages and compensation settlements should a claim be made.
What does Management Liability Insurance cover?
To financially protect your business and its leaders from legal liabilities, Management Liability Insurance usually includes 3 key types of cover:
Directors’ and Officers’ Liability
Directors’ and Officers’ Liability (D&O) covers your present and past directors, officers and senior personnel. It pays for the legal costs, awards and settlements for any claim, investigation or regulatory action brought against them.
Without this cover in place, your senior personnel could find that their personal assets are under threat. This is because the claim will be made against an individual, not your company at large.
Claims can be made for actions including breaches of trust, wrongful trading or misleading statements. They can be made by investors, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), employees and the police, among others.
Company Legal Liability
This policy protects your wider company against claims of wrongful acts. For instance, claims could include copyright infringement or corporate manslaughter. It can also cover you for things your company didn’t do, such as abide by current regulations or laws.
Company Legal Liability does not cover your organisation for any employment-related claims. These types of claims fall under Employment Practices Liability.
Employment Practices Liability
As mentioned above, this cover protects your company against employment claims. These can include wrongful dismissal, harassment, failure to promote and discrimination.
Below is a table containing the average employment tribunal awards from 2022/2023*. Could your business afford these costs if you don’t have the right level of Management Liability Insurance in place?
| Unfair dismissal | £11,914 |
| Race Discrimination jurisdictions | £23,070 |
| Sex Discrimination jurisdictions | £37,607 |
| Disability Discrimination jurisdictions | £45,435 |
| Religious Discrimination jurisdictions | £19,332 |
| Age Discrimination | £14,210 |
Is Management Liability the same as Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance?
Although these two terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same.
In fact, Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance is usually a policy that falls within Management Liability Insurance coverage, alongside Employment Practices Liability and Company Legal Liability. Together, these 3 policies create Management Liability Insurance.
Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance is usually included because it provides specific financial protection to past and present directors, officers and senior personnel should a claim be made against them as an individual.
Read more: Here are some things about Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance you may not know.
Management Liability Insurance policy with AXA
Now if you’re reading this and thinking “where do I start?”, don’t worry. At One Broker, we have worked closely with insurance giant AXA to put together Management Liability Insurance coverage that works for you and your business.
Due to our strong relationship with AXA, we have negotiated exclusive additional crime cover. This includes protection for financial loss due to dishonesty of an employee, third-party fraud or forgery, and telephone fraud.
An AXA Management Liability Insurance policy also provides you with access to rradar, AXA's exclusive legal services partner. rradar is a specialist litigation and commercial law firm that provides a range of digital tools, legal and risk management advisory services to help prevent legal and regulatory claims occurring under the Management Liability Insurance policy.
Arguably, one of the best things about this policy is that there is no limit to the number of times you can contact or access rradar’s advisory services. Neither is there a limit to the time their advisors can take to support you. This means you can talk through the advice at length with their team at no extra cost.
rradarstation proactive advice includes:
- Human Resources
- Employment Law
- Tax
- Money Laundering
- Business Related Crime & Regulation
- Health & Safety
- Bribery & Corruption
- Anti-Competitive Practices
- Data Protection & GDPR
- Commercial Contracts
- Commercial Property
- Intellectual Property
- Corporate Governance
- Director and Shareholder Duties
- Environmental Regulations
Should an issue escalate into a legal claim, then rradar’s highly experienced legal team is there to support and provide the best possible defence and advice.
In an emergency, you can also call the rradar 24-hour crisis line and speak directly to their legal team who will advise on how to best work with the police, HSE or any other investigating and regulatory bodies. In the event of a tribunal or court case, you will be represented by rradar’s teams of specialist solicitors and barristers.
While your liability to the business is limited, your liability to others is unlimited. In other words, your personal assets could be at risk if you cannot afford to defend yourself against a claim or you are held to be liable for a claim.
Note that you do not have to have done anything wrong for a claim to be made against you. Even if you have done nothing wrong, it is most likely that you will still be responsible for your own legal defence costs. Such costs are included within a Management Liability Insurance policy. This means you wouldn’t have to worry about the costs of defending yourself from frivolous claims!
Get a Management Liability Insurance quote
To get a quote for Management Liability Insurance, head on over to our dedicated webpage. Alternatively, you can give our Management Liability Insurance broker Ed George a call on 01223 949027.
*https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2023
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