Even with EPL Claims on the rise, so many clients still opt out of purchasing Employment Practices Liability Insurance because it is “more money” they must spend on their insurance policies. Although it looks like savings at the start, if something goes wrong, the cost to cover the claim with no EPL Insurance would be significantly higher than initially paying for the EPL insurance policy. There are many facts and reasons that prove purchasing Employment Practices Liability is a very smart move for Commercial Insureds. We have gathered the Top 10 Reasons why insureds should purchase EPL Insurance (EPLI)
Top Ten Reasons Why Insureds Should Buy Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) – RPS Executive Lines Insurance
1. Employment Practices Liability (EPL) covers not only actual, but also alleged acts of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and other similar acts.
2. Three of five employers are sued by former employees every year. Most carriers provide them with a Free 24×7 Human Resource Hotline.
3. Over 40 percent of EPL claims are against firms with fewer than 100 employees.
4. Some federal and state employment laws apply to all employers – any size company has exposure!
5. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recorded nearly 85,000 charges in 2017 and obtained more than $398 million in settlements for claimants.
6. The financial ramifications of not having EPL insurance can be crippling, especially for small firms because they do not have the operating budgets to handle the defense costs, let alone settlements or judgments, of an uninsured claim.
7. The median compensatory award to plaintiffs is $325,000.
8. There is no EPL coverage under other insurance policies such as general liability. Any endorsement to another policy generally provides insufficient limits, does not provide the breadth of coverage of a separate EPL policy and erodes the limit available for the general liability exposure.
9. Wage and hour litigation has quadrupled. More wage and hour collective/class actions have been filed in recent years than any other types of employment class actions combined.
10. Gender discrimination, age discrimination and retaliation claims are on the rise. There are more women and “baby boomers” in the workplace than ever before. Recent Supreme Court
decisions have lowered the standard of what constitutes retaliatory treatment.
Solution:
The solution to the fact that EPL Claims are on the rise is to talk to your Insurance Agent about how you can get covered to be protected from EPL Claims. Purchasing EPL Insurance is important, and highly suggested. Please reach out to us here at Deland, Gibson to learn more and see how this could impact your company.
