Even award-winning organizations can have cultural blind spots and challenges. Smart companies buy employment practices liability (EPL) insurance to manage that risk.
Here is the 2026 #RiskManaged checklist to maximize the value of an EPL policy:
1. Make sure the EPL policy provides coverage for third-party claims.
The classic EPL policy covers claims like workplace harassment, discrimination, and failure to promote by an insured against another insured.
Increasingly, however, members of the public (e.g., customers or clients) are making such claims too—especially with regard to discrimination.
2. The definition of “employee” needs to fit the organization’s structure.
EPL policies can treat everyone from directors and officers to volunteer interns as “employees” if asked.
This has no bearing on whether these individuals are “employees” for legal purposes, but does expand coverage.
3. Account for mass or class action litigation.
Many EPL policies treat these claims different because the stakes are higher.
Make sure you have coverage—even if it means a higher deductible for these claims.
4. Have counsel and rates pre-approved.
EPL policies are typically “eroding,” meaning defense costs erode the limits. EPL claims are expensive to defend. Have the right counsel at the right price set up in advance.