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Small business owner

Employment Practices Liability insurance

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    Small business owners are vulnerable to employment practices claims - Now you can protect them

    In today’s workplace, small business owners must protect themselves from employment claims brought by employees, independent contractors, or even volunteers. Discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination – these are just a few of the types of wrongful employment practices charges that employees and others can make against a business. Defense costs and settlements associated with employment practices lawsuits can seriously threaten the financial stability of a small business owner.

    You want the best for your insureds. It’s important and valuable to offer small business owners Employment Practices Liability (EPL) protection.

    Watch the video to learn more about Employment Practices Liability coverage.

    What is EPL insurance?

    HSB’s Portfolio Employment Practices Liability Coverage is a turnkey, outsourced reinsurance program, branded for the issuing insurer. It is designed to be included within business owner policies, commercial packages, general liability, or workers’ comp policies written for businesses with 100 employees or less. This approach is easy for insureds and their agents because it doesn't require a separate EPL application and collecting additional underwriting information.

    HSB's turnkey program includes form development, filings support, underwriting assistance, marketing support, agent and insured education, claims adjustment, and loss prevention. By insuring a portfolio of business we can make the coverage much less expensive than individually underwritten EPL policies. We've helped more than 200 insurers integrate specialty coverages in their commercial package products.

    Small businesses don't have the resources to protect themselves from employment practices lawsuits. Typically they have no staff attorneys, human resource professionals, or formal procedures to guide them in making employment decisions, like hiring and termination. This makes small businesses more prone to acts that could constitute employment discrimination, wrongful termination, or sexual harassment.

    Reasons for small businesses to obtain EPL insurance

    An EPL charge or suit can cost a small business thousands of dollars in damages. Although the majority of all claims are found to be groundless, they still require significant expenditures to defend. In many instances, small business owners can't afford the legal expenses associated with these claims.

    Comprehensive General Liability coverage doesn't cover the types of injuries and damages typically alleged in employment related claims. EPL insurance can help protect a small business owner from financial downfall.

    Benefits of HSB’s EPL insurance program

    HSB's Portfolio Employment Practices Liability program offers:

    • Broad EPL coverage and meaningful limits at affordable premiums
    • Eliminates the transactional underwriting process and the handling cost of issuing separate EPL policies
    • Helps fill a coverage gap and reduce agent E&O potential
    • EPL loss prevention website that provides model employment policies and procedures, best practices checklist, online EPL risk management training modules, and other employment law information
    • Specialized EPL claim services
    • Legal representation from law firms experienced in employment practices liability to respond to employers in the event of a claim
    • Legal advice line access
    • Limits available on a portfolio basis up to $250,000 for accounts with 100 employees or less
    • Higher limits of $500,000, $1 million, and $2 million available by referral
    • Also available by referral for accounts with 101 to 500 employees

    EmployerProtection.net offers extra tools for employers

    EmployerProtection.net is offered at no additional charge as part of our Employment Practices Liability coverage. While the coverage helps protect employers when an employee claim is filed, the website helps them prevent employee harassment and discrimination claims and provides the insured with a better understanding of the complex issues facing them. Using these tools provides small business owners with evidence of their best efforts to maintain a workplace free of harassment and discrimination should a claim ever be filed against them.

    The website simplifies the complex requirements employers must meet. With an employee handbook, sample forms, training modules, and other tools, EmployerProtection.net makes it easy to quickly implement a program that provides employees with clear, consistent guidelines.

    EmployerProtection.net is updated regularly to include new legal requirements, best practices and topical information, such as:

    • Best employment practices checklist
    • A Model Employee Handbook including:
      • Sexual harassment policies
      • Employment-at-will statement
      • Progressive discipline procedures
      • Workplace rules and prohibitions
    • Model forms and policies, including:
      • Employment application
      • Performance review
      • At-will notice
      • Many other topics and situations
    • Web-based training modules to:
      • Prevent sexual harassment
      • Prevent discrimination
      • Prevent wrongful termination
      • Promote ethical behavior
    • Library of employment related articles
    • A control panel for employers to manage user registration and track individuals’ usage and training progress.

    Marketing materials

    Introducing Employment Practices Liability Plus

    Employment Practices Liability Plus protects small businesses from damages and costs due to claims brought by employees with an added layer of Critical Incidents coverage for more comprehensive protection.

    How can HSB help you?
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