Why it is important to protect your collaborators: the RCO guarantee

For any entrepreneur, it is a top priority to protect their workers and, consequently, also themselves and their company. To stay away from possible injuries or unpleasant surprises, it can be extremely useful to take out an RCO guarantee.

What is it?

THE RCO policy (Civil Liability for Workers) serves to cover the employer from possible damage to its employees or collaborators.

The RCO risk, in fact, consists in the eventuality that the accident prevention precautions are not respected or, in any case, safety at work is not guaranteed as required by the civil code and the complex regulatory system on the subject, during everything that happens in the plant to carry out the activity described in the policy.

This guarantee is also covered of the compensation actions exercised by INAIL and INPS on the employer.

How to stipulate it?

Given the importance of this policy, it is also important to lend maximum attention when signing, relying on competent technicians, as it is not easy to negotiate a contract finding the balance between company needs and the Italian insurance market.

Another important thing is to rely on a company that is well informed about updating the text of the legislation. In fact, the latest measures have also extended the application of protection to self-employed workers and to individuals treated as employed workers. This saw the need to examine the contractual text of the policies.

It is therefore important that the entrepreneur takes out a policy that guarantees coverage for damages also to non-employee collaborators who could be excluded from the policy, as they are not included in the RCO.

The insurance company must take into account the following circumstances:

• Extension of the application of protection in the workplace also to self-employed workers and similar subjects;
• Determination of a certain moment from which coverage will start (such as, for example, from the delivery of the worker’s occupational disease certificate);
• The determination of the insured’s obligations in the event of an accident.