How many employees does your business have? If the answer is three or more, then you need to seriously consider adding Employment Practices Liability (EPLI) to your insurance portfolio. EPLI insurance can cover you against claims of discrimination, harassment, wage and hour violations, hiring/firing practices and a whole lot more. The #MeToo era has made this coverage seem more relevant today than ever, but the truth is that this has always been a business owners’ biggest exposure as it relates to the operation of their business. Historically you are at twice as likely to have a claim on your EPLI insurance policy versus any other business line of insurance. As a business owner I know recently said, “employees are the best and worst part about owning a business.”
The same concept applies to this coverage as it does to Cyber Liability insurance in the sense that you really need a policy specifically written for this coverage. Carriers have begun adding endorsements to your standard business owners and general liability insurance policy for EPLI but, as with Cyber Liability, the coverage is usually restrictive with low limits and high deductibles. I recently had the chance to review an EPLI policy a client has through their payroll company and found some concerning things. While the cost per month for this policy was very low, it had one of the highest deductibles I have seen. Before this client could be granted payment for a claim under their EPLI policy, there was a deductible of $100,000. Let me say that another way, the client would have to spend $100,000 of their own money in a claim situation before this company would begin to pay their expenses. As a comparison, I work with carriers who have deductibles beginning at $1,000 or less with coverage well beyond what this policy afforded.
As the title to this post says, I am on a one man mission to get every business owner an EPLI insurance policy. And in my opinion that is a lot of business owners. I would be happy to share more of my personal experience in this realm with you but need to stop writing this post as it is already longer than I would like. Please message me if you are interested in learning more about why your specific situation might require an EPLI insurance policy or stay tuned to future blogs on this topic.
Written by Robbie Korth
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Robbie Korth at rkorth@parkassociates.com.
