Employment Practices Liability Insurance

There’s no question we live in a lawsuit-happy society, and even less question that some unscrupulous people will seize at any opportunity to get a big payday on a completely unfounded claim. We hate to think that any client of ours could be brought to bankruptcy by a frivolous lawsuit due to insufficient coverage, and so we do everything in our power to create Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies that keep you safe from the unscrupulous.

We work for every size of company, from the “one-person shop” to businesses employing thousands. Any unscrupulous employee can sue you for just about any trumped-up reason, and we help create policies that protect you against the most likely scams.

What an EPLI Policy Covers

An EPLI policy reimburses your company against the costs of defending a lawsuit in court regardless of whether you win or lose the suit. In the case of your company losing the suit, your policy also covers judgments and settlements.

We’ll recommend an EPLI policy from a major carrier whom we trust, and we’ll recommend higher coverage for businesses who have been shown to need it most – technology firms, for example. EPLI is sometimes combined and written under a regular Business Owners Policy (BOP), but larger firms usually require a standalone EPLI policy.

EPLI policies cover suits alleging:

  • Sexual harassment
  • Discrimination
  • Wrongful termination
  • Breach of employment contract
  • Negligent evaluation
  • Failure to employ or promote
  • Wrongful discipline
  • Deprivation of career opportunity
  • Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
  • Mismanagement of employee benefit plans

Avoid the Lawsuit

We are always happy to advise our clients on the measures they can take to ensure they are protected against these types of lawsuits – for example, having clear corporate policies about employee conduct and being able to demonstrate that your employees have been educated on these policies – but even if the lawsuit against you fails, you will still be liable for legal fees without an EPLI policy in place.

Personally, we recommend a double-pronged approach: make sure your business is bullet-proof by incorporating company policies that make a huge difference, and have an EPLI policy available for the costs of doing business.