Private Roads Insurance
Do you need Private Road Insurance? Private/adopted roads and resident’s land are usually jointly owned by the private individuals that reside on the road. Unlike public roads owned by the local authority, private roads are the responsibility of the owners.
If you live on a shared access road, then it’s up you to keep the road maintained. It’s also important that you have adequate private road insurance that takes into account your legal liability and property. Where a road belongs to a group of residents or an associated management company, it is common for them to form a resident’s association to manage the road and land, and therefore take out collective Private Road Insurance cover.
These kinds of roads are usually accessible by the public, which means that any incidents that may arise, such as a third-party injury, would have to be dealt with by you and any other owners of the land. Insurance for private roads is key to protecting you and covering any unforeseeable indemnity claims. Our team of specialist will work with you to arrange a policy that is as bespoke as your private road.
Some of the things we will discuss with you are:
- Whether you are part of a group of residents managing the road
- If your private road has any property that you are responsible for, such as electric gates or barriers
- Private Road Liability Insurance
- Public Liability Insurance
- Directors/Trustee and Employers Liability Insurance
All policy holders at Edwards Insurance Brokers will benefit from:
- A dedicated member of staff to manage their policy
- Our own in-house claims team to aid the claims process
- The knowledge that we are a Chartered Insurance Brokerage, meaning our expertise and ethical approach is guaranteed at all times
Insurance is about risk. Wear and tear is not a risk but a certainty. So the answer is that insurance cannot help, but that you should build up funds gradually, over a period of time, to pay for resurfacing.
No! Associations must be “active”: residents must be taking decisions, and actions, collectively. If this is not the case, it is difficult to see how the association can fulfil the duty to make proper disclosure of risk or to comply with the obligation to minimise risk.
The answer to this is no, the insurance scheme is for residents collectively, whether in the form of an association or a company (or, occasionally, some other form). The scheme can accommodate both small and large roads and estates, but there must be a residents’ association or company in place in order to take out insurance.
Insurers are happy with this activity, subject to risk assessments being conducted and that there is sufficient notice stating the road is in use.
This will depend on whether the subcontractor is ‘labour-only’ or ‘bona-fide’. Those that are ‘labour-only’ work under your instruction/direction, using your tools and equipment. They are legally considered employees and have the same rights and so to protect them and you, you should have Employers’ Liability in place.
Alternatively those who are ‘bona-fide’ work under their own instruction/direction and provide their own tools and equipment. Usually these would not be required to be covered by you under Employers Liability.
If your association/management company is a limited company and you employ at least one person, or have more than one director, you are required to have Employers Liability Insurance. This requirement remains whether you employ anyone directly or not.