Employment Practices Liability Insurance in Ohio: The Most Vulnerable Part of a BOP

If you are an Ohio business owner or manager that has employees, you may be very surprised to learn that what you thought was a very thorough and comprehensive business owners policy may have some major holes in it, as far as liability coverage is concerned. Employees are suing their current, former and potential future employers at an increasingly alarming rate. This is why stand-alone EPLI coverage is becoming a must have.




A business owners policy usually covers EPLI related claims, but they have 3 major shortcomings that make stand-alone EPLI policies superior:

• What is covered
• How much is covered
• Lack of additional, but important coverages

1. What is covered. While most business owners policies (BOP)  have some form of coverage for EPLI related claims, many of them exclude some critical parts. These include, but are not limited to:

• Discrimination
• Sexual Harrassment
• Wrongful termination
• Failure to hire or promote
• Unsafe working conditions
• Hostile work environment
• Breach of contract
• Infliction of emotional distress

   If you have a business owners policy, look closely at your insurance contract. Some policies exclude some of the things mentioned above.




2. How much is covered. If you look at a business owners policy, you will be surprised that coverage is limited to a very low rate. You may have a million dollars or more of liability coverage with your BOP, but most policies limit EPLI related claims to a much lower level. With many companies, EPLI coverage is usually  limited to 10,000 or 20,000 thousand dollars.




3. Important additional coverages. Aside from employment practices liability insurance, there are some other additional options available on a stand-alone policy that are usually not available on a business owners policy.

• Defense outside of limits option. This is where your legal fees do not count against your total total liability coverage. With a BOP policy, legal fees alone can exhaust your liability limit!
• Third-party coverage (available for most businesses). This covers you if a third party not associated with your business causes you to be sued by an employee as a result of the third party's actions.
• Full prior risk coverage. This coverage is for a wrongful accident that took place before the policy was in place, as long as the claim is made during the policy, and there was no knowledge of the incident prior to taking out the policy.

Summary: A BOP is very important coverage for a business owner. I'm certainly not suggesting that you drop your BOP for a stand-alone EPLI policy (that would be very unwise!). But what I am telling you is that you need to review the terms of your BOP, or ask your agent about the specifics of your policy. Be sure to ask about the points mentioned above, and decide for yourself if your BOP is adequate. In most cases, you will be surprised to learn that it is not!




     You may also be surprised that stand-alone EPLI coverage is much less expensive than you may think. It's normally only a small fraction of the cost of a BOP, and you may discover that stand-alone EPLI coverage is well worth having, as many other business owners are starting to discover.
   
    
If you would like to get a quick quote to see how your business would rate, feel free to get a fast online quote with my agency. And as always, I handle all information personally and privately. You will be surprised how low-priced stand-alone EPLI coverage is. To get a fast online quote, simply click on the link below.




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