Risk & Business Magazine General Insurance Services Magazine Spring 2018 | Seite 5

EPLI
BY: CHARLIE KEENE, VICE PRESIDENT
OF COMMERCIAL LINES, GENERAL
INSURANCE SERVICES
Why You Need EPLI
Are You Protected?
T
hese days, talk of sexual
harassment is practically
everywhere—from Hollywood
to Wall Street. People are
generally becoming more
aware of what constitutes harassment
and that makes employers extremely
vulnerable. Not only are you subject to
liability for employees that may harass
other employees but you also may be
held accountable for alleged harassment
involving a third party that is associated
with your organization. insurance?” My answer? One. Even if you
have just a single employee—yourself
—you are not immune from harassment
allegations from customers, vendors
with whom you work, and others. The
simple fact is that every business and
organization needs EPLI.
• an employee offends another
employee by telling an off-color joke
Employment Practices Liability Insurance
(EPLI) provides the protection for your
organization in the event of an alleged
or actual incident of harassment. EPLI
doesn’t just protect your organization
against sexual harassment but also against
many other wrongful acts. Other types
of covered wrongful acts include (but are
not limited to) any type of discrimination,
wrongful termination, failure to
promote, defamation, invasion of privacy,
deprivation of a career opportunity, and
creating a hostile work environment.
Gone are the days when this type of
behavior is “swept under the carpet.”
Employers need to demonstrate leadership
by taking every allegation seriously and
conducting due diligence—even if it leads
to potential liability. • you offer early retirement packages to
some employees but not to others
• you are deciding upon two women for
promotion and choose the one who is
not pregnant
• you don’t allow an employee to return
from a medical leave unless the
employee can perform all job duties
The other day, I was asked by someone,
“How many employees are necessary
before you would recommend EPLI
If you need further convincing, take a look
at some simple scenarios that you could be
held accountable for:
•
you pay a man and a woman with
similar backgrounds different
amounts for the same job
You may think that your basic business
liability insurance is enough to cover such
claims, but that is not the case. You need
a separate policy that spells out coverage
specifically for these types of issues. Many
employers also have a mistaken belief
that a good HR department can protect
them against these claims or handle
any problems that arise. When it comes
to these types of serious allegations,
however, that is simply not the case. Don’t
be surprised if the US Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
even ends up joining the lawsuit. These
lawsuits end up in federal court and are
expensive to defend.
The good news is that for over two
decades, General Insurance Services has
been advising clients on EPLI coverage
options customized to their specific
exposures along with providing resources
to mitigate their risks. Also, EPLI
premiums have come down dramatically
due to increased competition and access to
better loss data. There are many insurance
carriers that provide EPLI coverage with
many different options. General Insurance
Services represents many EPLI carriers,
each with expertise in different markets
and industries.
Please contact us at 800.766.4478 to talk
with one of our risk advisors about EPLI
options for your organization. +
Charlie Keene is Vice President of
Commercial Lines at General Insurance
Services. Specializing in the industry
for over twenty years, he provides risk
management consulting and insurance
brokerage services to clients in the Greater
Chicago Area, Northwest Indiana, and
Southern Michigan. He earned a BS degree
in Insurance and Risk Management in
1997 from Ball State University.
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