July/August 2010 Worker Claims are Surging, Protect Your Agency with EPL Coverage HSB's Affordable Program Includes Important Loss Prevention Services A worker is fired for poor performance, but in response files a discrimination claim against her small employer. The company owner faces rising legal bills and spends hours of his time to fight the allegations of age and racial bias. After months of hearings, the employee is awarded more than $35,000 that must be paid by the company. AN EMPLOYEE CAN ACCUSE YOU AT ANY TIME Think this can't happen to you? With work-related charges at all time highs, every agent and broker should be concerned about employment claims. An employee can accuse you of discrimination, sexual harassment, or wrongful termination at any time. And like most smaller employers, agents are often not prepared to defend themselves. HSB HELPS OTHER INSURERS PROTECT AGENTS That's why employment practices liability (EPL) coverage is as important for agents and brokers as it is for their customers. HSB's Portfolio EPL program is added to the small business policies of other insurers to help pay the defense costs of an employee claim. In addition, we offer access to experienced legal counsel and useful loss prevention services. WHY YOU NEED EPL COVERAGE Employment claims in 2008-2009 increased 19 percent over the previous two-year period, with $753 million awarded to employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports. Sexual harassment complaints, meanwhile, were up 8.2 percent, with employers ordered to pay out another $51.5 million. POOR ECONOMY DRIVES CLAIMS The poor economy and new worker friendly laws are prime factors in this growing problem. With high unemployment, the inability to find a new job can make employees more litigious. In the more intimate working environment of an insurance agency or other small company, layoffs can be perceived as personal, rather than economic decisions. OWNERS OFTEN FEEL BETRAYED It's still a shock when a complaint is filed. Small business owners don't expect a charge from an employee they thought of as "part of the family." How many insurance agents would say the same about their company's employees? Yet, even agents who routinely quote EPL coverage for their clients fail to recognize their own exposure. "IT CAN HAPPEN, IT HAPPENED TO ME" HSB's Portfolio Employment Practices Liability program is easy, affordable and available through more than 50 insurance companies. Agents and brokers need the coverage as much as any other business does, because the risk of an employment claim is always there. "It can happen," a small business owner warned. "It happened to me." CALL US, GET COVERAGE Contact HSB toll-free at 1-800-HSB-1866 for more information. Hartford Steam Boiler - One State Street - P.O. Box 5024 - Hartford, CT 06102-5024 Phone: 860-722-1866 - Fax: 860-722-5106 ©1996-2010 The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. All rights reserved.