Those working in the public sphere, such as public officials in education and local government, may be inspired to lead, serve and make a change in their communities. But given their position, there also comes with it a number of risks that can land them with costly career-ending legal claims.

With the rise in social movements in the last few years centered around sexual assault and ethics issues, public officials need to be diligent about not only running their careers with professionalism, but also in protecting their careers with forms of insurance coverage. For those in the public realm, there are a vast amount of insurance products that can be personalized to their needs, industry, daily duties, risks, and more.

Coverage Overview

There are a number of insurance packages meant to protect public officials from claims and the financial blowback that follows. There’s directors and officers insurance, public officials liability insurance, fiduciary liability insurance for employee benefit plans, and employment practices liability insurance, among others.

The latter, also known as EPLI, typically provides coverage for wrongful acts committed during employment. This includes wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation claims. EPLI is frequently a “claims made” policy, meaning that the employment claim must be brought against a person, business or public entity that is protected by the policy and then reported to the insurance company by a certain date.

For example, a client who feel that their decision to end someone’s employment was the right call to make, but there may be a claim that arises from this. Having EPLI in place will give peace of mind and the right financial safety net when possible litigation occurs.

Typically, public officials may jump at a general liability policy that acts as a blanket measure against claims. However, EPLI pinpoints certain claims, targeting issues to their core and getting more hands-on with coverage.

Given the list of wrongful acts exposures, many insurers address issues by offering this coverage through a Public Officials Liability policy. Having a standalone EPLI coverage in place will allow payments of employment-related claims to not erode the limits available for public entity management liability claims.

Having EPLI coverage means that public officials can operate without the stress that comes with possible risks. Yes, there have always been liabilities when working as a public official, but in today’s world there needs to be more done to educate and promote healthy coverage.

About Professional Governmental Underwriters, Inc.

Professional Governmental Underwriters, Inc., is a full-service risk management company dedicated to assisting public, educational and non-profit entities in the management of their professional liability exposures. We are dedicated to providing state-of-the-art professional underwriting management and loss control advisory services on behalf of our designated carriers. For more information, call us toll-free at (800) 586-6502.