It’s easy to feel as if employing people is a legal minefield. This is mainly due to the potential for lawsuits over wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination and workplace conditions. Employment practice liability insurance (or EPLI) covers the risk of having to payout such claims. EPLI policies often cover the business itself, as well as individuals like company directors.
Employment practice and liability insurance policies are usually written to cover cases that come out of unintentional actions (or failures to act) rather than deliberate acts of discrimination or other wrongful practice.
One question to ask an insurer is whether the costs of defending a claim in court count towards the payout limit for any damages. Also, look out for mention of a “claims made” basis–that’s insurance jargon that means you are only covered if the policy is active both when the alleged incident took place and when the employee makes the claim.
Our EPLI experts can walk you through the various policies available to help determine if this type of insurance is a good fit for your business.