Do I need EL if I'm a sole trader with no staff?

No — EL is only required if you employ others.

What about my partner working in the business?

If your partner is an employee (even informally), EL is usually needed.

£5m is the legal minimum. £10m is commercial standard.

How much does EL cost in Exeter?

Employers' liability is rated on who you employ and what they do — wage roll, headcount, the trades involved, and how much of the work is on site, at height or around plant — together with the limit and excess you choose and your claims record. Two firms of the same size can price very differently, so we quote the actual risk rather than publish an average that would mislead at least one of them.

Employers liability · Exeter

Employers liability insurance in Exeter

Reviewed by Apex Insurance Brokers · Published 15 July 2026

Exeter is the commercial and professional-services capital of the south-west — home to the Met Office and a strong financial, legal and professional base — with a large university and a role as tourism gateway to Devon, and employers' liability follows that workforce. EL answers when an employee is injured or made ill by their work, and Exeter's exposure spans the office, the campus and the busy kitchen.

Where employers' liability claims come from in Exeter

Professional-services, financial and science employers carry the office profile — display-screen and posture injury, stress and premises slips. The university brings campus, estates and lab exposure. The tourism and hospitality trade, as a regional gateway, adds burns, cuts, slips and lifting injury among kitchen and front-of-house staff, sharpened in season. Each is the employer's claim.

An Exeter example

A kitchen porter at a busy Exeter restaurant is scalded by hot oil when a fryer is moved without proper care during a peak service. Employers' liability covers the compensation and the legal defence — the burn and scald exposure that commercial kitchens carry every service.

What employers' liability covers

Employers' liability answers an employer's legal liability when work injures or sickens staff, and pays to defend the claim, reaching former employees and conditions that surface later. Compulsory under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 for nearly every employer, it sets a £5m minimum against a £10m market standard, with the certificate shown on inspection.

Placing it in Exeter with Apex

Apex is FCA-authorised (FRN 724952), trading since 2009, reaching over 30 markets including Lloyd's via wholesale. An Exeter employer running offices and hospitality gets a named broker who can rate both the desk and the kitchen, rather than a single flat scheme.

Speak to a Exeter commercial broker

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Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm reference number 724952. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. Trading address: QCS, 53 Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol BS1 4HQ · Serving businesses in Exeter and the wider region.

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