What is ELTO
ELTO is not a claims company, and we are not owned by any single insurer. We are a not-for-profit organisation, set up by the insurance industry to run the Employers' Liability Database (ELD), a shared database of employers' liability insurance policies that anyone can search, free of charge.
Who runs ELTO
ELTO is a private company limited by guarantee, with no shareholders and no share capital. We are governed by a board of ten directors drawn from member insurers, run off specialists, professional services and the bodies representing brokers and employers, chaired by Steven Browne of AXA Insurance UK. It meets at least four times a year to oversee our performance, compliance and strategy. The board agrees our programme of work each year, sets our risk appetite, and holds the executive to delivering against both.
Day to day, the ELD is operated on a shared services basis rather than by a large standalone organisation. Operational and tracing resource, service management and the technology behind the database are provided through established partners, which keeps the cost of running the service proportionate to its size.
Who holds us to account
ELTO is the only tracing office recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority for this purpose, and our accountability runs through several layers rather than one.
An annual independent assurance audit of how we handle policy data and searches
The ELTO tracing audit programme, which runs in multi year cycles and has been passed at every assessment. The sixth cycle began in 2022.
Member data assurance audits, carried out on member insurers and reported to the FCA, so that the quality of the data reaching the database is checked as well as the database itself
Annual statutory accounts, independently audited and filed at Companies House
The relationship with the regulator is an active one. When the pandemic made on site data assurance audits impractical in 2020, we agreed a temporary relaxation of the requirement with the FCA rather than letting the programme lapse.
The most recent independent assurance report, published in our 2025 annual report, found the database to be complete and accurate in all material respects as regards the maintenance of data uploaded by underwriters, with systems in place to keep it up to date.
Our Story
Tracing an employers' liability policy sounds simple, but for years there was no shared way to do it, especially once decades had passed and businesses had changed hands or closed altogether. ELTO exists because the insurance industry decided to solve that together. Here's how we got from a voluntary agreement between insurers to the database that now holds millions of policy records.
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1969 The EL insurance market begins to grow rapidly
The Employment Liability Act makes it mandatory for all employers to be covered by employers' liability insurance.
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1990 Challenging, ethical questions emerge
The insurance industry faces criticism after people suffering from a work related illness, often many years after their employer has ceased trading, are unable to claim compensation. Insurers reach a voluntary agreement to search policy records to the best of their ability.
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2008 Employers' liability inquiries reach an all-time high
After a 6-fold increase in new inquiries since 2000, responding to claimants becomes slow, difficult and costly.
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2011 Insurers face new policy challenges
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) makes it mandatory to make employers' liability policies available in a searchable format.
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2011 The Employers' Liability Tracing Office is founded
Organisations across the insurance industry work together to create a single, centralised resource for all employment liability policies. The Employers' Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) and Employers' Liability Database (ELD).
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2015 Digital employment verification expands
ELTO supported the transition to digital employment verification, enabling greater use of electronic employment and income verification services.
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2018 Growth in regulatory scrutiny
Increased regulatory focus on payroll accuracy, worker status, GDPR compliance, and data governance highlighted a shift towards a more compliance-led operating environment.
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2020 COVID-19 and remote workforce transformation
ELTO's response to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote onboarding and digital verification processes across the industry, marking one of the most significant operational shifts of the last decade.
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2021 Accelerated digital verification
ELTO supported the shift towards accelerated digital verification by helping employers adapt to increasing demand for automated checks, faster responses, and evolving workforce practices.
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2024 ERN ‘milestone moment’ for ELTO
ELTO welcomes a long-awaited change in the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Employers’ Liability rules, following a member-backed project to streamline the collection of UK Employee Reference Number (ERN) data, preventing members from regulatory burden. “This is a milestone moment for ELTO and the insurance industry.." says ELTO Chair Steve Browne.
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2025 ELTO unveils a new visual identity
As part of its ongoing evolution, ELTO introduced updated branding that reflects its future direction.
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2025 ELD NextGen digital change programme launches
ELTO successfully launched ELD NextGen, a major digital change programme to modernise the Employers' Liability Database.
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2026 ELTO launches brand new website
ELTO launched its newly updated website, delivering its first major redesign since 2011 with a modern, user-focused experience, improved navigation and enhanced accessibility. The new website was introduced ahead of the launch of ELD NextGen in early 2027, laying the foundations for ELTO’s future digital services and making it easier for members of the public, legal professionals and insurers to access key information and resources.
Who we work for
The same service supports everyone who needs to trace an employers' liability policy:
Individuals and families, searching on their own behalf or for a loved one
Solicitors and legal professionals, searching on behalf of their clients
Insurers, who rely on ELTO membership to meet their own regulatory obligations
Because everyone searches the same shared database, a claim does not depend on knowing the right insurer to contact directly, ELTO does that work for you.
