Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella Liability / Excess Liability
Umbrella Liability / Excess Liability provides additional coverage when the limits of insurance on an underlying policy are exceeded. For example, if you have $2,000,000 coverage under General Liability and you have a claim settlement for $2,500,000, the umbrella policy would pick up the additional amount. Umbrella Liability policies add coverage to General Liability, Hired and Non-owned Auto Liability, and Employer’s Liability for a single premium. Umbrella coverage does not apply to the Professional Liability policy.
Employer’s Liability
Employer’s Liability coverage: These policies also provide Employer’s Liability coverage that protects the company in the event that an employee alleges that the employer’s negligence or failure to provide a safe workplace was the cause of the employee’s injury or illness.
Fidelity Or Commercial Dishonesty Bond
Fidelity or Commercial Dishonesty Bond provides coverage when an employee steals money, equipment or other assets from you or one of your clients. First party fidelity covers your property and third party fidelity applies to your client’s property.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), typically covers allegations of discrimination, wrongful termination and sexual harassment of employees. A decade ago, when many insurance companies began taking large losses on these types of claims, Employment Practices Liability Insurance became a stand-alone insurance product for businesses.
Over the past decade, the number of discrimination cases has more than tripled in the United States, and a vast majority of these cases are filed against employers. Employment issues make up 30% of all civil litigation in the United States, and charges filed through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission increase virtually every year. Publicly held companies, privately held companies and not for profit corporations are all at risk for being sued by employees and potential employees.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance Protect Businesses From Common Claims.
EPLI protects companies against claims that past, current and prospective employees of the company bring against the company, its directors and officers, and its other employees. Common employment practices violations include discrimination (based on sex, age, race, religion or other factors), sexual harassment (including “quid pro quo” harassment claims), wrongful termination, and a variety of other employment-related claims which violate employees’ civil rights or their ability to perform their job in an acceptable and fair working environment. These types of claims can be extremely expensive to defend against, even if the court finds in favor of the employer.
What is also common about these types of claims is that they frequently consist of one person’s word against another’s. For example, if a candidate for a job feels she was passed over due to age discrimination, but the Human Resources Director who interviewed her says it was because another candidate was more qualified, the responsibility to make a judgment frequently rests with a jury who must decide which person they believe more. This type of case can be risky for a company to face, since many potential jurors may bring their own big-business prejudices to the jury.