Question and Answer – Adding a safety officer to the insurance policy?

answer:

 For the most part, insurance companies refuse to include a safety supervisor who is an independent service provider or corporation in their insurance for contractor work. When they are willing, they exclude his professional liability. However, there is a smart way to protect safety supervisors, and here is a brief explanation. 

 The request of safety supervisors to be covered by the contractor's or developer's insurance does not come in a vacuum. Unfortunately, the insurance policies for safety supervisors in Israel are inadequate to say the least. Not only are insurance companies reluctant to provide them, but even when they do offer some kind of solution, the insurance product is not optimal. Both due to the conditions and exclusions and due to the low amounts in relation to the safety supervisor's high exposure to direct claims and subrogation claims. Including, of course, criminal exposure in difficult cases. 

 Contractors' insurance is a policy designed to protect the contractor/developer and not necessarily any external consultants who interact with him on the project. In the view of most insurance companies, a safety officer is no different in this regard than any consultant or planner. Unless it is an employed safety officer who is naturally included in the contractor's policy, it is not possible to add him to the insurance. 

 Did we say employee? Here lies the solution. The best way to deal with the challenge is by employing the safety supervisor as an employee of the company, even if not full-time. The employment of the supervisor in the company does create an employee-employer relationship - which must be considered in full legal nuances - but it automatically includes him and his work within the contracting policy. 

 Not interested in employing the supervisor? It is important not to leave "room for interpretation." Seek professional, focused advice on engaging with a safety supervisor. Preferably from lawyers who specialize specifically in the complex world of construction insurance. Note that if the supervisor is not employed as an employee, a dedicated clause should be prepared in the employment contract that deals with insurance and an appropriate appendix should be attached to it. 

 What happens if the safety officer is an employee of the company but is defined as self-employed who issues a tax invoice for tax reasons only? This is a complex intermediate situation that should be avoided. On the one hand, the insurance company may not recognize the safety officer as part of the policy because he is self-employed (and then we "lose" his inclusion in the policy as an employee). On the other hand, in the labor courts, one can find quite a few cases in which employee-employer relationships were recognized retrospectively as part of claims by employees who only produced an invoice for tax purposes. Such recognition will lead to the employer being charged significant amounts. From severance pay to retroactive social rights including overtime, vacation days, convalescence pay, and so on. In such a case, one can contact the insurance company and demand his inclusion in the insurance without excluding his professional liability, and if such an agreement is reached - that is sufficient.