Costly business

It's a story we've been following on Working Lunch - the rising cost of liability insurance and the effect its been having on small businesses and individuals.

Premiums have risen steeply in the past couple of years as a combined result of falling stock markets, the compensation culture and global terrorism.

One Working Lunch viewer Paul Vodden from West Sussex has been in contact to tell us how its been effecting him and his fellow coppice workers who look after Britain's woodlands.

Low return

Paul's job is to bring derelict or abandoned woods back under management. He does his job for the love of the work and the outdoors rather than the income which can be low.

Paul has found that insuring himself against injuring a member of the public is becoming a huge problem:

"It's very difficult to find anybody who will cover you ," says Paul Vodden

"It's very difficult to find anybody who will cover you anyway and when you actually get down to finding someone who will, the premiums are huge."

"This is a very low return industry and I suppose in a 12 month period I probably get about a £12,000 gross. Well if I spend £800 on public liability insurance it's a significant part of my income."

It's not just the expense of the public liability insurance which covers you if a member of the public gets hurts where you're working. Paul's also found that the quotes he's getting for employers liability insurance, which he needs if he were to take someone on to help are around £3,000 for a year.

He simply can't afford that and employers liability insurance is compulsory according to the law so he can't take anyone on.

Future

Paul's friend Alan Waters teaches coppicing skills and has seen more and more workers in the woods who are finding that insurance is an obstacle they can't cut through.

"The cost of insurance to what we earn is silly," says Alan Waters

"Insurance is worrying us for the simple reason that you if you have anybody on site you need employers liability insurance," says Alan Waters.

"Now I'm mentor to four people, they've got their own insurance but it doesn't really cover them on our site so we are looking for ways around this. But the cost of insurance to what we earn is silly."

It makes no sense say these coppice workers that the useful work they do should be frustrated by the cost of insurance but it is, and the problem could prevent them passing on their skills and experience.