What does
the SELEC EPLI policy cover?
Discrimination in hiring, firing and promotions:
Harassment for both sexual and non-sexual acts;
Inappropriate Employment Conduct; Personal Injury
such as emotional distress, mental anguish and humiliation.;
Retaliation. |
| |
Who would
bring a claim?
Your past,
present or prospective employees as well as leased
employees, temps, and independent and sub-contractors
who are your dedicated agents or representatives.
|
| |
Who would
they bring it against?
The company, members of the management team, supervisors
and/or another employee. |
| |
But we would
never discriminate or harass. Why do we need the
coverage?
Most
people would not knowingly discriminate or harass.
But a good natured off-color joke might be considered
harassment by someone else. Failure to be promoted
might be considered to be discrimination by another.
It is estimated that 40% of U.S. companies will
have employment-related claims against them.
|
| |
How much can
they get?
If
the case does not go to trial, the average defense
costs alone are $45,000. If it goes to trial, you
can expect defense costs to exceed $100,000. |
| |
What
will the policy pay for?
| 1. |
Judgement or settlement; |
| 2. |
Defense; |
| 3. |
Investigation of
a claim; |
| 4. |
Punitive damages
where insurable on a most favorable venue
basis. |
|
| |
How much will
it pay?
Up to the
coverage amount purchased plus defense costs for
the entire policy period regardless of the number
of claims. |
| |
Since
the insurance company pays defense costs anyway,
why is defense in addition to the limits of liability
important?
If a $1
million policy is purchased, for example, that is
the total amount the policy will pay for all claims
including both defense and judgments. The SELECT
limit is available for judgments and defense costs
will be paid in addition to that. |
| |
Some
policies require me to pay a portion of the claim
(co-insurance %) in addition to the deductible.
Does the SELECT policy?
No, the
policy will pay 100% of the covered claim in excess
of the deductible. |
| |
What
about deductibles? Will this always be my responsibility?
Yes, but
the SELECT policy reduces it by 50% for a wrongful
termination claim if you follow the advice of an
attorney approved by us prior to the termination.
|
| |
The
insurance company has to defend me. Right?
If the policy
is a duty to defend form. If not, you must make
arrangements to find an attorney and manage the
litigation yourself. SELECT is a duty to defend
policy. |
| |
OK,
but I have an excellent attorney who handles most
of my work. Do I have to use the insurance company's
attorney?
If your
attorneys are experts in EPLI claims, the SELECT
will give consideration to using them. |
| |
If
we have no previous claims, what is wrong with
a Prior Acts exclusion?
If, for
example, you laid someone off prior to purchasing
an EPLI policy and that person sues you after
you buy it, the claim would be excluded. The SELECT
does not have Prior Acts exclusion, and therefore
there would be coverage. |
| |
I
thought that in order to prove Discrimination in
court, it has to be an intentional act.†If
that is true, isn't an intentional act exclusion
bad?
We agree
completely. Yet a number of EPLI policies contain
an intentional acts exclusion. The SELECT does not.
|
| |
I
heard that some EPLI policies will not cover me
if an employee claims I am seeking revenge against
he or she for one of their previous actions.
Yes. Some policies
have a retaliatory acts exclusion. The SELECT does
not. |
| |
Not all States permit
insurance companies to pay punitive damages. How
do you handle it?
Many
States do not permit us to pay punitive damages.
However, when determining if we can legally pay
them, we will use the jurisdiction's law where they
were awarded, where the event took place or the
principal location of your company, whichever is
most favorable to the payment of punitive damages.
|
| |
What is Third Party
Liability? Do I need it?
It
covers claims brought by non-employees such as customers,
venders, etc., who feel they have been discriminated
against. Since every firm has customers and venders,
every firm has the need for this coverage. |
| |
Will new employees
be covered automatically?
Yes.
It will even cover employees gained through a more
than 50% acquisition as long as the employee count
is less than 25% of your total employees at the
time you purchased the policy. |
| |
When
should I report a claim?
We recommend
immediately after you become aware of it, but in
any event no later than 60 days after the claim
is filed. |
If I terminate an
employee and they make threats that sound like he/she
is going to sue, what should I do?
We
recommend you report it immediately. As long as
it is a covered claim and you reported it properly,
the policy will cover it. |
| |
Can you help me
improve our employee relationships?
At no additional
cost, a Labor Law Review is available. Provided
by a national law firm, it provides the type of
assistance most medium size companies seek.
Click
here to find out more.
|
