People are not able to insure against the fines they might incur for speeding or for assaulting someone.

Similarly, now no one is able to insure against fines that might be imposed for any of the offending under the Act.

The principle behind this is quite clear - Parliament requires a certain standard of behaviour (at pain of a fine for non-performance) and it is not appropriate for insurance companies to substitute a lower standard of behaviour.

The Act now says that if an insurance company offers insurance against these fines or if an employer or other person buys such a policy both of them are committing an offence and the policy has no legal effect.

However, insurance policies can still cover other costs:

• the cost of defending a prosecution
• the amount of reparation ordered to be paid to a victim by the Court.

Instead of insuring against the risk of prosecution employers and others are encouraged to invest in systems to identify and manage hazards and thus prevent harm.

Go to:

• Fact sheet: Insurance pdf file [size: 29KB]