Protecting your company is your primary goal as a business owner. While you may have insurance in place to protect against risks associated with fires and vandalism, you may not have the right type or amount of coverage to protect against employee risks. For many companies, this type of business insurance is essential. What is employment practices liability insurance? It's often a lesser-known type of insurance, but it can provide you with critical coverage. 

What is Employment Practices Liability Business Insurance? 
Employment practices liability (EPL) is a type of insurance plan that specifically covers your company from employees' claims of wrongdoing in the employment process. These are very specific types of claims that employees may make against your company. Some examples include: 

• Discrimination 
  
• Wrongful termination 
  
• Harassment 
  
• Sexual harassment 

Why should you invest in this type of insurance? A single complaint—for example, a claim of harassment—could send your company to court to face a lawsuit. That lawsuit may yield millions of dollars in legal expenses. Keep in mind that these types of lawsuits are on the rise and can be very hard to prevent from occurring. With this type of insurance in place, you have some level of financial protection against the losses.  

What Should You Know About EPL Insurance? 
This form of business insurance is often available as standalone policy or as a part of an insurance package. This type of coverage is typically not included in a commercial general liability policy. If your company is at risk of this type of loss (and many companies are), you may find that this coverage can be invaluable. Discuss your need for this insurance with your agent. Keep the following in mind: 

• Even if you think your employees would never make such claims, there is likely the risk present. 
  
• Larger companies are a higher risk of this occurring since many of these claims are made against lower levels of management. However, even small companies may need it. 
  
• You'll want to discuss loss prevention with your agent to ensure that you are implementing ways to reduce these types of claims, such as proper training and business practices. 

EPL isn't something to overlook as you consider the various types of insurance available to your company.