Be Our Friend - Louisiana Dental Association

LDAbenefits bylineStormy BlairSenior Vice President, Robert Ellis & AssociatesAs a dental professional, you wear two hats: healthcare provider and business owner. As a dentist,you know the importance of safeguarding yourpractice against malpractice claims with professionalliability insurance. As a business owner, however,you may not be as aware of the perils you face fromemployment related lawsuits.The incidence of Employment Practices Liability(EPL) claims is widespread: growing type of civil cases in the U.S. 1 have an EPL claim than a General Liability orProperty Loss. 2 75,000 private sector charges filed annuallyagainst employers under statutes enforcedby the Equal Employment OpportunityCommission (EEOC). 3 race discrimination, sexual harassment andretaliation – resulted in recoveries by theEEOC of over $200 million. These amounts donot include defense costs, which can exceed$100,000 per claim.To protect yourself as an employer against suchclaims, you may wish to consider EmploymentPractices Liability Insurance (EPLI). EPLI coverage iswritten on a claims-made basis and covers financialdamages only, excluding any advertising injury,bodily injury, personal injury or property damages.While some policies will provide for defense costsoutside the limits of coverage you select, it isimportant to note that legal defense costs are usuallyconsidered to be within policy limits. As a result, anylegal costs arising to defend the claim will reduce thelimit of insurance being provided by that amount.In addition to limits of liability selected, theannual premium cost of an EPLI policy is basedupon location, profession, number of employees andcompany assets. On average, we have found EPLIpremium costs for dental offices very affordable.In light of the high dollar claims typically filed bydisgruntled employees, the importance of includingEPLI coverage in your professional insuranceportfolio should not be overlooked.As your insurance consultant for the LDA’sendorsed insurance portfolio, please feel free to contactRobert Ellis & Associates if you have any questions orwant additional information on EPLI coverage.We welcome the opportunity to be of service to you.1. “Human Relationship Failures: Understanding Your Exposures to EmploymentLitigation” by Catherine A. Asaro © 2005 Beecher Carlson Holdings, Inc. 2. “PLUS”seminar, 6/16/05. 3. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website(www.eeoc.gov)CLIP AND SAVE MEETINGDATES HERE:2011 Louisiana Dental AssociationCalendar (as of February 2011)April 14 – 16:May 11:July 22 – 23:July 27 – 30:Septemberor October:November:NODC and LDAAnnual SessionDentists’ Day atthe LegislatureLDA MembershipFishing RodeoLDA SummerEducation ConferenceLADPAC GolfTournamentLast Chance SeminarSpring 2011 33