How much does employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) cost?

The price data that exists

No regulator or statistical agency publishes what employers pay for EPLI. We found one published dollar figure from an insurance seller:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Insureon’s page calls $257 an “average premium” but says its figures are “calculated using the median cost of policies”⁠¹. We cannot tell which it is, so treat it as a central value for Insureon’s customer mix, not a mean you can scale up. The customer base helps explain the low end: a three-person firm with a $10,000 deductible presents far fewer potential claimants than a 150-employee employer.

By Insureon’s industry breakdown, professional service firms pay $342 a month and healthcare facilities $315. Real estate professionals pay $149, and nonprofits $68⁠¹. Those are $4,104, $3,780, $1,788 and $816 a year (our calculation). Insureon also names California, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Texas as states where EPLI costs more⁠¹. That is the broker’s description, not published state data.

The Hartford’s model shows a second way small employers buy EPLI: as a low-limit coverage inside a BOP, with a package policy (Private Choice Premier) or a stand-alone policy (Employers Premier Choice) as the alternatives⁠². A $25,000 built-in limit is a product feature, not a price. It will not go far against a claim that reaches a lawsuit.

What the policy pays for

EPLI responds to claims by people who work for you, used to, or applied to. Chubb’s ForeFront Portfolio EPL coverage part (form PF-55505, 07/21) is a published example of the wording. Its “employment practices wrongful acts” are breach of employment contract, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, workplace torts, wrongful employment decisions (demotion, failure to hire or promote) and wrongful termination, including any of these committed over social media⁠⁴. The workplace torts include defamation, invasion of privacy, wrongful discipline and violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act⁠⁴. The Hartford’s list is similar: discrimination, age discrimination, retaliation, FMLA violations, wrongful discipline, failure to promote, wrongful termination, harassment and sexual harassment⁠².

A claim does not have to be a lawsuit. In the Chubb form, an “employment claim” includes an administrative proceeding started by a charge, which covers an EEOC or state-agency charge⁠⁴. That matters because many charges are resolved at the agency stage (see the EEOC section below). The form’s “loss” covers defense costs, compensatory damages, settlements (including the claimant’s attorney fees in a settlement), and liquidated damages under the ADEA, FMLA and Equal Pay Act. It covers punitive damages only where the law of the most favorable connected jurisdiction allows them to be insured⁠⁴. USLI’s product sheet makes the same point: punitive damages “are not insurable in all states”⁠⁵.

Third-party claims: customers and vendors

A separate insuring clause covers claims by outsiders. Chubb’s form defines a third-party wrongful act as discrimination against, or harassment of, a non-employee⁠⁴. The Hartford says its BOP’s EPL covers accusations of harassment or discrimination by customers, vendors and business invitees, and that other insurers’ BOPs “may only protect you if a claim is filed by your employees”⁠². Third-party cover matters where staff deal with customers and visitors. Check whether a quote includes it, and at what retention. Chubb’s declarations carry separate retentions for employment claims, third-party claims, and mass or class actions⁠⁴.

What it excludes: wage-and-hour and the other employment laws

For employers of hourly staff, the key exclusion is wage and hour. Chubb’s form excludes loss from violations of any law governing “wage, hour and payroll policies and practices” — minimum wage, prevailing wage, overtime, business expenses, rest and break periods — “including the Fair Labor Standards Act.” Equal Pay Act claims are carved back in⁠⁴. The same exclusion removes claims under workers’ compensation, unemployment and disability benefit laws; ERISA (except its section 510 anti-retaliation provision) and COBRA; OSHA; the WARN Act’s layoff-notice rules; and the National Labor Relations Act. Retaliation claims are carved back in under all of these⁠⁴.

Some insurers sell a limited buy-back:

• USLI advertises a Fair Labor Standards Act sublimit of $100,000 for defense costs and loss, available in most jurisdictions (product sheet dated 07/17)⁠⁵.
• The Hartford says its BOP “automatically includes a ‘Wage and Hour Defense Cost’ coverage” within the built-in EPL⁠². The name and the page describe defense costs; the page does not say it pays wages owed.

Neither is a substitute for getting classification and overtime right: under wording like Chubb’s, wages owed under those laws are not covered loss⁠⁴. Injuries to employees belong on workers’ compensation, which EPLI excludes⁠⁴.

How an EPLI premium is set

We found no public EPLI rate table. The underwriter prices from the application, so the application shows what moves the premium. The Hartford’s EPL application (form AM 00 H010 00 0315, 2015 edition) asks for⁠³:

1. Headcount, now and a year ago

   Full-time, part-time, independent contractors and foreign-based employees are listed separately. Growth and contractor use both show.

2. Employees in California and New Jersey,

   counted separately from the rest of the workforce.

3. Pay bands

   The share of employees earning under $100,000, $100,000 to $250,000, and over $250,000.

4. Involuntary terminations and layoffs

   in the last 12 and 24 months, whether severance was offered, and whether recipients signed releases.

5. Written procedures

   on harassment, discrimination, EEO, the ADA, discipline, grievances, at-will employment, terminations and exit interviews; whether a handbook goes to every employee; whether there is a stand-alone HR department; whether terminations are reviewed by counsel; whether managers are trained.

6. Employment contracts and arbitration,

   and the share of employees under contract.

7. Prior claims,

   including civil complaints, class actions and charges before any federal, state or local agency.

Insureon’s list of price factors is similar: limits, deductible, industry, employee count, location, turnover, hiring and termination practices, revenue and claims history⁠¹.

Retentions and what the limit really buys

On a policy with defense inside the limit, the retention (the deductible) applies to defense costs as well as settlements, and defense payments shrink the limit. The Hartford’s application states both: “Defense costs are applied against the retention. Payment of defense costs reduces the limit of liability”⁠³. USLI offers defense outside the limit only when the limit is $500,000 or more and the employer has fewer than 200 employees⁠⁵.

The Chubb form adds two clauses that change what a claim costs you. You may not settle without the insurer’s written consent⁠⁴. Its “early engagement” clause lets up to the lesser of $25,000 or 50% of the retention count toward the retention for three things: costs of investigating a potential claim you reported before it became a claim, costs spent before you reported a claim, and an early settlement the insurer recommends that you accept within 30 days (the claim must have been reported within 30 days of being made)⁠⁴.

Worked example: one claim under a $250,000 policy

This is our calculation, using assumed figures, not a quote or a claim record. An employer with 40 employees has an EPL policy with a $250,000 aggregate limit, defense inside the limit, a $10,000 retention (Insureon’s average deductible⁠¹) and wording like Chubb’s⁠⁴. A dismissed employee files an EEOC charge alleging disability discrimination and retaliation, then sues and adds a claim for unpaid overtime. Defense costs reach $85,000, all assumed to be for the covered claims. The case settles for $75,000, of which $15,000 is allocated to the overtime claim.

Defense was the largest single cost and used about a third of the limit. That is why the defense-inside-or-outside question, and the limit, matter more than a small difference in premium.

The claims environment: what EEOC data shows

The EEOC’s fiscal-year statistics are the main official measure of how often employees accuse employers. Fiscal 2025 runs October 2024 through September 2025. The figures exclude charges filed only with state or local fair employment agencies, so they understate the total⁠⁶⁠⁷.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: EEOC Table E1a⁠⁶.

Three things in the data matter for an EPLI buyer:

• Retaliation dominates. Total charges were flat (−0.4%, our calculation), but retaliation charges rose 28.5% in a year (our calculation)⁠⁶. The Chubb form keeps retaliation covered even under the employment-law exclusions⁠⁴.
• Most charges end with no finding against the employer, but not without cost. Of 90,744 charges resolved in FY2025, 57,500 (63.4%) ended with a “no reasonable cause” finding. Another 6,843 were settled, 6,712 were withdrawn with benefits, and 799 were conciliated⁠⁷. An employer that hires counsel to answer a charge pays for it even when the charge ends with no cause, and under wording like The Hartford’s those costs count toward the retention and erode the limit⁠³.
• Money changes hands before any lawsuit. The EEOC obtained $528.0 million for workers through its administrative process in FY2025, up from $469.6 million in FY2024⁠⁷. Charges alleging harassment (37,397 received in FY2025) accounted for $261.9 million of benefits⁠⁸. Divided by the 14,354 charges resolved by settlement, withdrawal with benefits or successful conciliation, that is roughly $36,800 per charge (our calculation; the EEOC does not publish this average)⁠⁷. The EEOC’s own lawsuits are few: 107 filed and $26.64 million recovered in FY2025⁠⁹. Private lawsuits are not in these tables.

Laws that set the size of the exposure

Federal coverage starts at 15 employees. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees in each of 20 or more weeks of the current or preceding year⁠¹⁰. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act starts at 20⁠¹¹. A business below those thresholds can still face state-law claims, and in some states those reach every employer (below).

Federal damages caps grow with headcount. For intentional discrimination under Title VII and the ADA, compensatory damages for future and non-economic losses plus punitive damages are capped per complaining party⁠¹²:

Back pay and interest on it are excluded from the cap⁠¹². Back pay grows with salary and time out of work; Chubb’s form counts back pay and front pay as covered loss⁠⁴, and The Hartford’s application asks for pay bands⁠³.

State laws reach smaller employers.

• California: the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s ban on discrimination applies to employers of five or more, and its ban on harassment applies to every workplace, even one with a single employee. Employers of five or more employers must give supervisors two hours of sexual harassment training, and other employees one hour, every two years⁠¹³.
• New York: the Human Rights Law’s definition of employer “shall include all employers within the state”⁠¹⁴. Under Labor Law § 201-g, every employer must adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and train all employees annually⁠¹⁵.

The Hartford’s application asks whether managers are trained⁠³. The Hartford excludes California and New York from its built-in BOP EPL and asks separately how many employees work in California⁠²⁠³. Both show underwriters treating these states separately.

Renewal pricing in 2026

CIAB’s member brokers reported average EPL renewal premiums down 1.5% in Q2 2026. D&O was down 2.1%, and all lines averaged −0.3%⁠¹⁶. Across all account sizes the average was −2.0%, and −0.5% for small accounts⁠¹⁶. These are broker-reported averages, not filed rates, and an individual renewal after a charge or a layoff can move the other way. The market trends page has every series.

What lowers the premium, and what lowers the claim cost

• Fix the facts the application asks about. Written harassment, discrimination and termination procedures, a handbook given to everyone, manager training and counsel review of terminations are all application questions⁠³. Some are also legal requirements: harassment training in California (five or more employees) and a written policy plus annual training in New York⁠¹³⁠¹⁵.
• Choose the retention against defense costs, not settlements. Because defense counts toward the retention⁠³, a $10,000 retention is used up early in a charge that goes to litigation. A higher retention cuts the premium but means you pay more of every claim.
• Ask how defense is treated. Defense outside the limit (USLI offers it on $500,000+ limits for employers under 200 staff⁠⁵) keeps the full limit for settlements.
• Report early. Under early-engagement wording like Chubb’s, early reporting and early settlement count toward the retention⁠⁴. The same form requires notice as soon as practicable, and no later than 90 days after a policy that is not renewed expires⁠⁴.
• Get releases at separation. The Hartford asks whether everyone who received severance signed a release⁠³.
• Price the bundle. EPL can be bought inside a BOP, as a stand-alone policy, or alongside D&O in a management liability package⁠²⁠⁴. Compare limits and retentions, not just premium. Chubb’s declarations let the EPL aggregate be shared with D&O and other parts, so one claim can use up the limit the other relies on⁠⁴.

Sources

1. 1
   Insureon, Employment practices liability insurance cost (updated July 13, 2026) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   The Hartford, Employment practices liability insurance (last updated Nov. 26, 2025) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   The Hartford, Asset Management Choice policy: Employment Practices Liability Application, form AM 00 H010 00 0315 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Chubb, The ForeFront Portfolio Policy Guidebook (Employment Practices Liability Coverage Part, form PF-55505 (07/21)) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   United States Liability Insurance Group (USLI), Employment Practices Liability product sheet (EPL POS 07/17) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Table E1a. Charge Receipts by Basis or Statute (All Statutes) FY 1997 - FY 2025 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Table E1c. Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Type (All Statutes) FY 1997 - FY 2025 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Table E2a. Charges Alleging Harassment, Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Type (All Statutes) FY 2010 - FY 2025 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Table L1. Litigation Statistics FY 1997 - FY 2025 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (U.S. Code text), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, Definitions (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (U.S. Code text), 29 U.S.C. § 630, Definitions (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (U.S. Code text), 42 U.S.C. § 1981a, Damages in cases of intentional discrimination in employment Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    California Civil Rights Department, Employment Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    New York State Senate, New York Executive Law § 292, Definitions (Human Rights Law) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
15. 15
    New York State Senate, New York Labor Law § 201-g, Prevention of sexual harassment Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
16. 16
    The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), Commercial Property/Casualty Market Index, Q2 2026 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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