Management Liability Insurance
Practices face a constantly broadening spectrum of risks related to management. These executive exposures are most often associated with Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability, Employment Practices Liability (EPL), Fiduciary Liability, Errors and Omissions (E&O) Liability, and Workplace Violence coverages.
Failure to properly insure these threats can pose serious financial problems for your practice in the event of a claim.
Read on to learn more about each of these coverage options and how they pertain to your practice.
Why Does Your Practice Need It?
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPL)
In 2017 alone, the United States Equal Opportunity Commission recorded more than 84,000 charges filed for EPL claims. The reality is, if your company has employees, utilizes contractors, or deals with third-parties of any kind (i.e. patients, suppliers, vendors, etc.) you have EPL exposure.
EPL insurance covers actual and alleged wrongful acts including; failure to hire, failure to promote, negligent evaluation, hostile work environment, equal pay violations, retaliation, discrimination, harassment, negligent supervision, wrongful termination, defamation, libel, slander, disparagement, invasion of privacy, and third-party claims occurring between a company employee and an outside party. Coverage for these claims includes defense costs, judgments, and settlements.
Directors & Officers Liability Insurance (D&O)
All companies, both publicly or privately held, have exposures related to the management of their affairs. The exposure is not limited to shareholder suits either. Even unsubstantiated claims can generate thousands of dollars of exposure in defense costs alone.
D&O insurance covers actual and alleged wrongful acts related to the management of company-related business including; misstatements or misleading statements, failure to disclose pertinent information, providing incomplete information, breach of duty, mismanagement of the company's financial business, operating in bad faith, and otherwise breaching the fiduciary duty of acting in the company's best interest. Coverage for these claims includes defense and related expenses costs, judgments, and settlements.
Claimants can include, though may not be limited to, shareholders, business partners, competitors, regulators, suppliers, vendors, creditors, and potential buyers.
Fiduciary Liability Insurance
If your company has a qualified retirement plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) or health and welfare benefit plans, you have Fiduciary Liability exposure. Plans covered by ERISA include Defined Benefits Plans and Defined Contribution Plans such as 401(K) plans.
Fiduciary Liability insurance covers actual or alleged fiduciary related wrongful acts of mismanagement by company ownership, management, or leadership in handling a company's employee benefits.
The plans include; qualified retirement plans, federal statutes, medical insurance, dental insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, etc. Coverage for these claims includes defense and related expense costs, judgments, and settlements.
Errors & Omissions Liability Insurance (E&O)
E&O policies respond to a wide range of healthcare consultant claims not necessarily resulting from direct patient care, including, but not limited to copyright infringement, personal injury (libel and slander), and alleged or actual negligence of the duties of an insured not involving direct patient care.
An example of an E&O claim would be a nursing home medical director being negligent in performing their duties resulting in poor staff training and lost profits. The nursing home entity sues the medical director, and the E&O policy responds to the claim.
E&O is also considered a shared exposure. Billers and coders can impact practices’ revenue streams if they are out of compliance and have access to sensitive patient information. In this blog article, Professional Risk explores errors and omissions (E&O) liability facing billers and coders, as well as how they might relate to a physician’s medical professional liability. Learn more about these exposures.
Workplace Violence Insurance
75% of all workplace assaults occur in the healthcare industry.
With these staggering statistics and recent high-profile workplace attacks, it is imperative to ensure your practice has the appropriate coverage for such an event. Unbeknownst to most physicians and practice managers, instances of assault, or bodily injury occurring from an assault, are often not covered by a Workers' Compensation policy. An incident must be classified as an accident in order to be covered by Workers' Compensation. Due to this stipulation, willful acts of violence committed by disgruntled individuals would leave you and your employees without any kind of coverage for such events.
Professional Risk has partnered with XL Catlin Insurance Company to provide our clients with comprehensive coverage specifically designed to cover workplace violence. This coverage includes; legal liability coverage, public relations counsel, psychiatric care, medical or dental care, employee counseling, temporary security measures, rehabilitation expenses, personal accident expenses, business interruption expenses, and consultant expenses.
