Waste & Recycling

Each and every company in the waste and recycling industry will have very specific insurance requirements. It’s crucial these differing demands are met. We work with the leading waste and recycling insurers.

As a result, Plan will ensure bespoke waste and recycling insurance cover is arranged to provide your company with the protection it needs for the risks it faces.

Plan also offer a range of very useful risk management services, including a number that are made available free of charge. Additionally our customer service and claims performance is independently rated as achieving a platinum level.

Our three step plan to protect, prevent and perform is designed to mitigate the impact of incidents on waste and recycling businesses.

Numerous, wide ranging activities are performed in the waste and recycling sector. As a result, the methodologies,  machinery and materials involved can vary massively. A commercial combined policy should be arranged to cover the specific business activities. Key elements of the protection provided should cover property, equipment, stock and multiple liability exposures.

Additional requirements, specific to waste and recycling risks such as the provision of cover for: environmental impairment liability, sudden and accidental pollution, clean-up costs, spoilt melts, defective premises, personal accident, landfill sites and waste tips can also be discussed. If asbestos and other hazardous materials are handled then an insurer that is willing to accommodate these constituents must be sourced. Should motor insurance be required, insurers will be vetted to ensure they are satisfied by the risks presented by firms involved with waste and recycling.

Waste and recycling is a rapidly changing and challenging industry. Its important if your activity or risk profile should alter that you inform your broker accordingly.

The waste and recycling industry requires attention to detail in regards to its insurance provision due to the unique risks it encounters. We work closely with specialist insurers and risk management experts to protect waste and recycling businesses. Careful consideration will be directed to each section of cover.

Plan will arrange insurance that meets the needs of forward thinking waste and recycling firms. We have extensive knowledge and a thorough understanding of the industry. So our insurance solutions are built around your specific requirements.

Your business insurance can be arranged to cover the following risks:

• Public Liability
• Product Liability
• Employers’ Liability
• Motor Fleet
• Contractors All Risk
• Goods in Transit
• Professional Indemnity
• Tools
• Plant
• Excess Layer Liability
• Property Insurances
• Directors & Officers
• Cyber Liability
• Specialist Schemes and Tailored Packages

Having the right risk management procedures in place is vitally important for waste and recycling firms. Correct, up to date document templates and guides can help you minimise risk and remain compliant with regulations. Failure to do so could result in huge potential liabilities as well as the threat of criminal prosecution.

As part of our goal to prevent claims we offer our construction and contractors clients personalised Health and Safety documents, Risk Assessments, Method Statements and much more. These additional documents are supplied to your business at no extra cost when you take out a policy with Plan. Read more about our  risk management services here.

Our new package now includes business continuity templates that are updated annually which you can use as guidance and to track your business operations. With this, you will also receive regular notifications regarding legislation changes that are relevant to your business. Read more about our extensive free Risk Management Templates as well as the additional, very cost effective solutions offered by our Plan Essentials support package.

Our informed advice and independent claims guidance, based on over 30 years of industry experience, all comes as part of the service. Our motor claims help line will also proactively report incidents to your insurer on your company’s behalf and arrange courtesy vehicles whenever possible.

That should all go without saying. Though, we do also offer the following innovative claims solutions:

Loss Adjuster Assistance Insurance – Should you need to make a claim on your commercial insurance with a value in excess of £5,000 having unlimited advice from a professional loss adjuster could prove a fantastically helpful resource to draw upon. We offer an insurance policy that will provide a  personal loss adjuster who can prepare and present your claim to your insurers. They’ll also be able to negotiate with them, organise interim payments from your insurers where necessary, attend insurer meetings and handle all correspondence. Read more about the incredibly useful support that a Loss Adjuster Assistance Insurance policy can offer for comparatively low premium.

HSE Assistance Inspection Assistance – An unannounced inspection or an investigation by HSE following an accident could have a serious impact on your business. We offer an insurance service that provides businesses regulated by the HSE with reassurance of knowing that should they need it, they’ll have 24/7, 365 days a year access to assistance to minimise any downtime and distraction. Your business will have cover to help meet the costs of a Health and Safety Executive intervention. Your team will also receive guidance from a Health and Safety expert to help you handle the Health and Safety Executive inspection process, review relevant documentation and to draft a response. If the HSE wish to conduct an interview under caution’ cover for legal fees to represent you are an added benefit. Read more about this low cost HSE Assistance Inspection Assistance solution that could prove highly valuable.

There are a number of activities and risks in the waste and recycling sector that the majority of insurers will not consider. These involve the provision of cover for: nuclear hazard, asbestos, lead-based paint, underground storage tanks, natural radioactive material, communicable diseases, divested locations and properties.

Should you need to discuss the insurance requirements of your waste and recycling business please contact our expert account executives on 0800 954 0778.

Plan are aware of the constant health and safety threats faced by waste and recycling firms. The requirements of the HSE are essential but they can be demanding.

For that reason, we offer a HSE inspection insurance service that provides businesses regulated by the HSE with reassurance of knowing that should they need it, they’ll have 24/7, 365 days a year access to expert assistance to minimise any downtime and distraction.

The 2020 workplace health and safety report by HSE for workers in the waste sector* makes clear the extent of the challenges that firms face. It provides the following relevant information:

• The waste sector accounts for around 0.43% of the jobs in Great Britain.
• Around 5,000 of waste workers (4.1%) suffered from work-related ill health (new or long standing cases.)
• Around 4,000 of waste workers (3.6%) suffered a non-fatal work-place accident.
• 9 annual fatalities occur on average in the waste sector. At 7.71/100,000 this is 18 times above the average across all industries. By way of comparison construction sits at 1.61/100,000 and manufacturing at 0.71/100,000.

Of the 5,000 workers suffering from work related ill health (new or long- standing)

• Roughly a third suffered with depression/anxiety/stress conditions
• And a third with musculoskeletal disorders
• A third with “other”

Of the 4,000 non-fatal injuries occur each year in the waste sector

• Approx 30% will be a slip, trip or fall
• 28% involve lifting or handling
• 11% moving or falling objects

Of the 5 fatal injuries to workers in 2018/19, (the annual average number of 9 fatalities is based on 2014-19 figures sourced from RIDDOR**)

• 30% involved contact with moving machinery
• 28% were struck by a moving vehicle
• 16% were struck by a moving/falling object

In 2018/19 HSE issued to businesses in the Waste Sector:

• 269 enforcement notices
• 77 prohibition notices.
• 20 prosecution cases were either brought or had a verdict reached by HSE and/or COPFS. All 20 resulted in a guilty verdict on at least one offence.
• £2.8M in fines resulted from these prosecutions, with an average fine per case of £141,000***.

Read more about the Health and Safety Executive Inspection Assistance Cover that plan can arrange.

*The waste sector, as defined by the report, includes waste collection, treatment and disposal activities as well as materials recovery. However, the wholesale of waste and scrap (including collecting, sorting, separating and stripping of used goods) is outside of this definition of the waste sector. The HSE states this activity is regularly associated with the waste sector but within the standard industrial classification it sits in the wholesale and retail trade sector

**RIDDOR – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, RIDDOR puts duties on employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses).

***The size of fine is related to the turnover of organisations as per new sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences that came into force February 2016.

Key statistics in the waste sector in Great Britain, 2019 were provided by https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ . The Labour Force Survey (LFS): The LFS is a national survey run by the Office for National Statistics of currently around 37,000 households each quarter. HSE commissions annual questions in the LFS to gain a view of self-reported workrelated illness and workplace injury based on individuals’ perceptions. The analysis and interpretation of these data are the sole responsibility of HSE.