QBE North America Introduces Innovative Service Designed to Help Reduce Risk of Harassment, Other Employment Practices Issues

Launch of QBE Business Resource Edge

New York, NY (Aug. 29, 2019) – Creating a safe and supportive workplace that minimizes the risk of harassment, discrimination, and other potential employment practices violations is critical for top executives and their HR departments.

To help employers better navigate this risk and stay ahead of continuously changing employment laws, QBE North America, an Integrated Specialist Insurer, has introduced a new and complimentary service, QBE Business Resource Edge, as part of its Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance offering.

John Burkhart, SVP, Head of Professional Lines and Industry Verticals at QBE North America, observed, “Employers are facing continuously changing employment laws and work environment trends. Staying on top of them can be difficult. QBE believes the best outcome for all parties is when companies create the optimal workplace and avoid employment practices issues that could turn into a claim. The unlimited and complimentary advice of QBE Business Resource Edge, along with its many other benefits, is an innovative step towards that goal. It’s just one of the many ways we anticipate our customers’ needs and develop new solutions to better manage their risks from end to end as an integrated specialist insurer.”

QBE Business Resource Edge directs employers to an independent firm, currently Enquiron^®, with attorneys* who specialize in providing pre-claim advice on an unlimited basis, without the need to handle an incident if it turns into a claim. The comprehensive suite of customized advice, training, and education via a dedicated toll-free hotline and email address, as well as a robust online portal includes:

• Unlimited, documented, and confidential advice from experienced employment law attorneys* regarding specific organizational issues as they arise
• Resources that address over 50 different employment law and HR / risk management issues
• Live and recorded topical webinars, covering essential HR topics and deep dives into more critical topics like termination and retaliation, many with CE credits for HR personnel
• On-demand sexual harassment prevention training, available for both supervisors and employees
• A state-specific employee handbook and policy building tool
• Customizable and proactive regulatory updates via email for managers and HR staff

“The results of this service have already been well-received by brokers in our limited and preferred distribution network, and the clients involved with initial testing,” said Moire Moron, AVP, Claims Practice Lead for QBE’s Employment Practices Liability business. “An HR manager at one of our clients recently wrote: ‘This new QBE Business Resource Edge is a great resource for us. We can learn more about HR things. I can click around to find all sorts of information. I will be able to use the handbook builder. I also plan to check out the webinars.’”

“The #MeToo Movement has brought a renewed focus to how important it is for companies to provide safe environments for employees,” said Eric Sanders, SVP, Head of Claims. “To help our clients address EPL-related risks, QBE Business Resource Edge differs from the standard approach that usually involves referring specific questions to the law firm that would handle an employee practices incident if it turned into a claim. These firms typically do not offer the broad range of risk management services that QBE Business Resource Edge does. Also, QBE Business Resource Edge’s unlimited pre-claim advice can make HR and other executives more comfortable about seeking advice at an earlier stage of an employee issue.”

About QBE

QBE North America, an Integrated Specialist Insurer, is part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, one of the largest insurers and reinsurers worldwide. QBE NA reported Gross Written Premiums in 2018 of $4.7 billion. QBE Insurance Group’s 2018 results can be found at www.qbe.com.

Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 31 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. QBE insurance companies are rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best and “A+” by Standard & Poor’s. For more information, visit www.qbe.com/us.

About Enquiron®

Since 1996, Enquiron has revolutionized the way that services impacting HR, employment law, health care, retirement, cybersecurity and more are delivered to, and utilized by, employers. Enquiron has locations across the United States and is a trusted partner to organizations who need specific answers to specific questions.

* Use of Enquiron’s services does not create an attorney-client relationship between employer and Enquiron’s attorneys, employees, contractors, consultants or legal professionals. Any liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on Enquiron’s services are expressly disclaimed.

SOURCE: QBE

Tags: Employment Practices Liability, liability, QBE Read the original article at Insurance-Canada.ca