What is Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)?

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) protects your business against lawsuits from employees, former employees, or even job applicants. These claims can allege things like wrongful termination, discrimination, or harassment — and they’ve become increasingly common for businesses of all sizes.

Why EPLI matters

Even with good HR policies and fair practices, it only takes one claim to trigger significant legal costs. EPLI helps cover:

• Legal defense fees

• Settlements or judgments (where covered)

• Certain administrative costs related to employment claims

Most EPLI policies are claims-made, meaning the policy must be active when the claim is filed — not just when the incident occurred.

Real-world claim examples

A few sample situations where EPLI may respond:

• Wrongful termination: A salesperson is let go for poor performance and later sues for age discrimination. Poor documentation leads to a $630,000 settlement.

• Racial discrimination: A restaurant employee uses racial slurs toward a customer. The incident results in a $48,000 discrimination settlement.

• Gender discrimination: A former employee claims she was passed over for promotion based on gender. Defense costs exceed $100,000.

Even unfounded claims can be costly to defend — EPLI helps cover those expenses.

Where EPLI sits in your insurance program

You might see EPLI offered in a few ways:

• As an endorsement on a BOP or package policy:
  Convenient, but often with lower limits and narrower terms. Good starter option, but may not be enough for growing teams.

• As a standalone EPLI policy:
  Typically offers broader coverage, higher limits, and options for both employee claims (first-party) and certain third-party claims (e.g., customer alleging harassment or discrimination), depending on the form.

The right approach depends on your size, risk profile, and budget.

The bottom line

If you have employees—or plan to—EPLI is worth a serious look. A single employment claim can be costly to defend, even if you did everything right.

Wang Insurance can help you:

• Review your current policies for any built-in EPLI

• Evaluate whether your limits and terms are realistic

• Explore standalone options if you’ve grown beyond basic coverage

Have questions or want to see if EPLI makes sense for your business? Reach out and we’ll walk through it with you.