Markel International today launched an Employment Practices Liability product designed to help businesses deal effectively with the increasingly complex and potentially damaging risks they face in the area of employment regulation and legislation.

The new policy provides protection for employment disputes, including cover for costs incurred as a result of official investigations and inquiries.  The product has a wide definition of Wrongful Employment Acts and affords protection to the company, the employees, the directors (including non-executives) and officers. Punitive and exemplary damages are also included and cover extends to the insured's world-wide operations.

At a briefing today, attended by over 100 London brokers, Shadow Secretary of State for Industry, Stephen O’Brien, MP, said:

"National and European legislation and regulation gets more and more complicated and creates greater and greater challenges for businesses. They soak up valuable management resource and create exposure to legal and financial costs. And that's as true for a multinational as it is for a small business. Businessmen deserve all the help they can get to face these challenges."

Francesca Bristo, Head of Markel’s Directors and Officers and Employment Practices Liability team, said:

“In the last twelve months there have been almost 100,000 employment tribunal applications issued and nearly 45,000 claims for unfair dismissal. However, the CBI estimates that less than one in ten businesses are insured against this type of exposure. There is no sign that the flood of employment legislation which has been steadily increasing over the last few years will abate, and British businesses have to recognise the trend and obtain adequate protection for these ever more varied types of risk."