 It seems employers are exposed to lawsuits more than ever now due to social media and information on the Internet. This is why Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPL) is a Business Insurance policy that should not be overlooked. Employees are more aware of their rights these days. 20 years ago you had to go to the library or know someone (possibly a lawyer) to know your rights or understand them. Lets face it, now it's right at your finger tips. A tweet, Facebook post, or an Internet search can shed a lot of light on a subject. You can even use Google to look up past EPL lawsuits and see whether you have a valid case/claim. Some common EPL claims are:
Most employers can look at this list feeling confident they are doing the right thing and not have to worry about a lawsuit or claim. The problem with that mindset is you could be in the right, but you still have to defend the claim. You can’t just say, here's our employee handbook or we did training on this subject and expect the lawsuit to be dropped. These claims can be very costly to defend against. So what's the cost? According to AMTrust Financial, the average discrimination claim costs $125,000 (Top Trends EPL). That’s just the hard cost. Think about the possible soft costs like, employee morale, management time on the case, higher employee turnover and not to mention a potential copycat case from another employee. Getting Employment Practice Liability Insurance (EPL) is very easy these days. There are many factors that determine what the premium will be. Below is a list of some things underwriters look at: Location California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas have some of the highest claim frequency with California being the highest. In contrast, states such as West Virginia, Kansas, and New Hampshire have had relatively low EPL claim frequency and severity. Industry Some industries have higher frequency. For example, restaurants have proven to be the highest. Number of Employees More employees the higher the probability of a claim Claim History If a company has a history of EPL claims it can be difficult to find a company to underwrite it, and if they do, they will most likely surcharge for past claims, which will make the premium higher. Employee Turnover High turnover can be a red flag for many things, which can lead to higher premiums or limited markets to write the risk. If you have any questions about Employment Practices Liability, or any other Business Insurance, please feel free to contact me. If you'd like a quote, please fill out the application below. Let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to meet with you. Jason Matison Commerical Insurance Agent Austin, Texas 
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