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Fiduciary liability policies also usually include coverage for administrative errors in the same manner as employee benefits liability coverage. However, many fiduciary liability policies do not include the corporation as an insured, coverage is specifically restricted to the individual fiduciaries themselves. The Corporation can sometimes be added as an insured to the fiduciary liability policy, in which case the employee benefits liability coverage is duplicate insurance. Since the cost of employee benefits liability coverage is usually quite reasonable, some insureds maintain the duplicate coverage in order to obtain higher limits.
Providing negligent advice on the selection of employees benefits program
Failing to enroll an employee in the employer's group health insurance program, with the result that the employee has no health insurance for a condition that would have been covered by the health insurance
Improperly calculating a retiree's pension benefits, resulting in wrongful reduction of the retiree's retirement income
What is Fiduciary Liability Insurance?
In addition to facing claims for errors and omissions in carrying out their administrative duties (covered by employee benefits liability insurance), fiduciaries can be sued if they breach fiduciary duties involving discretionary judgements. An example of a duty involving discretionary judgements is using using due care in investing funds accumulated for an employee retirement income plan. If the plan's fiduciaries make negligent investment decisions and thus cause financial harm to the plan's participants, the participants can sue the fiduciaries. Employee benefits liability insurance does not cover liability for such discretionary judgements. Fiduciary Liability Insurance covers the exposure.
Employee Benefits Liability Insurance covers an employer (and, in some policies, its employees who act on behalf) against liability claims alleging improper advice or other errors or omissions in the administration of the employer's employee benefits plans. The coverage is provided either in an endorsement to the employer's CGL policy, or in a separate policy.
About the Author: Ahsan Bashir is an experienced Tax Consultant based in Irving, Texas, with over 25 years of expertise spanning Taxation, Accounting, Business Lending and Mortgage, Risk Management, Business Insurance, and Business Consulting. Through his firm, Z-Tax & Accounting, he provides comprehensive financial services including Individual and Business Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, Payroll Processing, and Business Consulting. As an Enrolled Agent authorized to practice before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA), Ahsan Bashir delivers trusted, professional solutions tailored to the unique needs of both individuals and businesses.
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