The Employee Risk Most Business Owners Never See Coming

Your Employees May Be Your Greatest Asset—and Your Greatest Risk.

As your business grows, so does your team. More employees often mean more opportunities, more capacity, and more revenue. It also means more responsibility.

Many business owners focus on protecting their equipment, vehicles, buildings, and job sites. But one of the fastest-growing areas of risk isn't a physical asset at all—it's your workforce.

That's where Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) comes in.

EPLI helps protect businesses from claims made by current, former, or prospective employees related to employment practices. These claims can include allegations of:

• Wrongful termination

• Discrimination

• Harassment

• Retaliation

• Failure to hire or promote

• Other employment-related disputes

The important thing to understand is that a claim doesn't have to be valid to become expensive. Even when a business ultimately prevails, legal costs, time, and disruption can add up quickly.

For trades businesses, growth often happens fast. A company that once had a handful of employees may suddenly have multiple crews, supervisors, seasonal workers, office staff, and subcontractor relationships to manage.

As the workforce grows, so does the potential for misunderstandings, disagreements, and claims.

That's why EPLI coverage is becoming an increasingly important consideration for growing businesses.

QUICK CHECK

Take a minute and ask yourself:

• Have you added employees in the past 12 months?

• Do you have a written employee handbook?

• Are managers trained on workplace policies and documentation?

• Do you have a process for handling employee complaints?

• Have you reviewed whether EPLI coverage is included in your current insurance program?

REAL TALK

Many business owners assume EPLI is only something large companies need.

The reality is that employment-related claims can happen in organizations of any size.

Often, it's not the claim itself that creates the biggest challenge—it's the cost of defending it.

As your workforce grows, make sure your employment practices are growing with it.

Consider:

Maintaining an up-to-date employee handbook

Documenting performance and disciplinary issues consistently

Training supervisors on workplace policies

Reviewing your insurance program to understand whether EPLI coverage is included

A few proactive steps today can help prevent larger issues tomorrow.

Set aside 15 minutes to review your employee handbook and workplace policies.

Ask yourself:

When was the last time they were updated?

Do supervisors know how to apply them consistently?

Would a new employee clearly understand expectations and reporting procedures?

If you're not sure, it may be time for a review.

At Acrisure we are driven by a passion for client service and powered by our ever-expanding network

of insurance and risk management professionals. We understand that our clients have needs beyond

any single product and bring in expertise from across the company to deliver an unmatched level of

service to build long-term relationships and the best possible client outcomes. Visit our website here.

Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and validity of the information provided in this newsletter. This is not intended to be legal advice, please contact legal counsel for advice.

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