Employment Practices Liability Insurance
What is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?
Employment practices liability (EPL) insurance addresses specialized liability risks arising from actual or alleged wrongdoing at work, including:
- Wrongful termination or constructive discharge
- Sexual and non-sexual harassment
- Discrimination
- Employment-related negligent hiring, supervision or retention
- Failure to employ/promote/make partner
- Employment-related emotional distress
- Retaliation
- Invasion or breach of privacy
These policies tend to operate on a defined peril, claims-made basis — providing broad definitions of covered acts and often offering reasonable flexibility on the selection of defense counsel.
Why is Employment Practices Liability Important?
Employment claims can adversely impact a business by damaging a firm's reputation, straining relationships with clients and forcing change in senior management.
Several factors have contributed to an increase in EPL exposure for firms, including:
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Media Attention
Increased media attention on workplace harassment claims
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Gender Pay Disparity
New state, local, and international laws regarding gender pay disparity
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Specialized Law Firms
Larger number of law firms specializing in employment-related claims
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Arbitration Agreements
Growing challenges to arbitration agreements
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Changes in Laws
Significant changes in the law, including the 1991 Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and Older Workers Benefit Protection Act
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M&A Activity
Merger and acquisition activity resulting in more employment-related claims
What is Wage and Hour Liability Insurance?
Wage and hour (W&H) liability insurance addresses the North American-specific risk of certain pay practice violations, including misclassifying workers as exempt, non-exempt, independent contractors, or employees.
Historically, EPL policies have not provided a solution for W&H-related issues. To address this gap, Aon worked with insurance carriers to create a full-indemnity W&H insurance product. U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that 90 percent of employment-related class actions tend to be W&H-related. Our W&H solutions are designed to address risks in the U.S. and certain circumstances, Canada.
90%
U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that 90 percent of employment-related class actions tend to be W&H-related.
How Aon Can Help
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Data and Analytics
Aon provides peer purchasing information, such as valuable pricing data on program limits and retentions.
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Best-in-Class Coverage Terms
We work on behalf of our clients to negotiate coverage enhancements that are designed to provide broad coverage. Using our advanced claims data and analytics, our brokerage and claim teams work together to help inform coverage negotiations.
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Ongoing Education and Updates
Industry expertise provides insight into the latest changes in the employment-related litigation exposure environment, recent settlement and verdict trends and statistics and the evolving state of available coverage terms.
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Multinational Capability
Multinational companies must consider their liability risk and related issues abroad when structuring management liability programs. Our team has the expertise to perform due diligence on factors such as local insurance requirements, legal and regulatory liability, insurance-related tax laws, local claims trends, and more to determine whether non-U.S. EPL policies should be placed locally and what structure will help address a company’s risk profile.
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