Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) is seeing a shift in how brokers recommend coverage for businesses as risks around employment evolve. More agents are moving away from bundled EPLI policies and turning toward standalone, or monoline, options that offer clearer limits and better protections.
Allison Arnold, a professional lines broker at JenCap, explains that when EPLI is included with other coverages like General Liability or Property, the limits often fall short. “Standalone policies lay out the EPLI limits clearly,” she says, “and they usually include extra protections for issues like wage and hour claims.” Arnold points out that combining EPLI with directors and officers (D&O) insurance can work since those policies provide separate limits. But bundling EPLI into broader property and casualty packages can leave gaps because of low limits and missing enhancements.
Monoline EPLI policies are designed to avoid these issues. They offer dedicated limits and special add-ons like coverage for wage and hour lawsuits or immigration-related claims. With settlements for employment-related lawsuits sometimes reaching millions, these policies provide protection built for real challenges, Arnold says.
Arnold has noticed industries with high employee turnover or hourly workforces are especially interested in standalone EPLI. Car dealerships, hospitality, engineering firms, healthcare, staffing, retail, comedy clubs, schools, and nonprofits all face risks related to discrimination, harassment, and wage disputes.
One popular enhancement in these policies is wage and hour coverage. This helps with lawsuits involving overtime pay, minimum wage violations, and child labor issues, which have become hot topics amid tightening regulations and a very litigious environment. Data show wage and hour settlements in the U.S. exceed $600 million in a year, emphasizing the financial risk for businesses.
Another growing concern is immigration-related claims. Although often offered with sublimits, this coverage protects companies facing lawsuits for allegedly hiring undocumented workers, something many employers might not realize is a risk.
Arnold recommends standalone EPLI as the most accurate and reliable protection for most employers. These policies offer flexibility, allowing brokers to customize limits and add important enhancements. This approach not only better protects clients but also helps brokers stand out in the market.
In short, any employer with workers faces EPLI risks. Those with high employee turnover or mostly hourly workers, like hospitality and retail, should especially consider standalone EPLI coverage. It provides clear limits and essential add-ons that bundled insurance packages often miss, making it the smarter choice for today’s employment risks.