Crime Coverage & Employment Related Liability

We would like you to take a moment to think about your Crime and Employment Related Liability exposures as coverage is typically excluded or very limited under your Property and General Liability policies.

Typically most contractor’s physical property is covered for loss by theft under various property policies. If you only carry a General Liability policy you have no property coverage at all. You should get Business Personal Property coverage for your property which will cover theft as well fire and other perils. However, under unendorsed property policies Money & Securities, and dishonest acts of employees are still excluded. Theft of cash by burglary or robbery, and all theft by employees of money and other property would be excluded, including forgery. To protect yourself from these uncovered losses, please consider adding Money and Securities, and Employee Dishonesty, two important coverages often overlooked.

Also, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires those handling funds of an benefit plan to be bonded. The required amount of coverage is 10 percent of the plan’s assets, subject to a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $500,000. This coverage can typically be provided by an endorsement to the Employee Dishonesty coverage mentioned above.

The second exposure to consider is Employment Related Liability. Virtually every General Liability policy carriers an exclusion for Employment-Related Practices. This typically excludes liability arising out of any refusal to employ any person, termination of employment, coercion, demotion, evaluation, reassignment, discipline, defamation, harassment, humiliation or discrimination. Even if you’re not at fault, defense costs for such a claim can be enormous. A separate Employment-Related Practices Liability Policy is needed to provide this coverage.

If you have any questions about the above or would like a quotation for coverage, please let us know.

Very truly yours,
DeSanctis Insurance Agency, Inc.