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EPL POLICY HAS LIMITS OF UP TO $100 MILLION

Posted On: Sep. 20, 1998 12:00 AM CST

BOSTON -- Lexington Insurance Co. has introduced EPL Century Select, a new employment practices liability insurance policy that provides limits of up to $100 million.

EPL Century Select is designed to meet the needs of buyers seeking protection from catastrophic employment practices liability claims. Coverage can be tailored to fit a policyholder's buying needs and preferences.

The policy includes coverage for punitive damages where allowed by law and alternative funding methods in states that prohibit insured punitive damages, provisions for adding subsequent acquisitions and mutual selection of defense counsel.

Coverage for third-party discrimination claims, such as those brought by customers, and coverage for independent contractors is available by endorsement. In the event of a class action or multiparty claim, a policyholder's self-insured retention would apply per claim, not per claimant.

Lexington, a unit of New York-based American International Group Inc., also offers a free integrated risk management program to all EPLI policyholders that includes employment practice audits and access to EPL risk consultants.

For information, contact Paul Cunningham, EPL division manager, 617-772-4586, or Rob Jurgel, territory manager, 617-330-8445.

Comp vendor tool

CHEVY CHASE, Md. -- Managed Care Advisors, a professional consulting firm, has introduced the Managed Care Performance Assessment, an evaluation of outside vendors hired by employers to manage workers compensation claims.

MCA's Managed Care Performance Assessment identifies critical areas for improvement and answers key questions about vendors:

* Are employers getting the most from their managed care programs?

* Is the vendor doing the job accurately and efficiently?

* How can employers enhance outcomes?

* Has the employer negotiated the best performance guarantees with its vendor?

MCA's performance assessment is tailored to the needs of individual clients. The analysis includes an in-depth review of areas such as pre-injury planning and education, first notice of injury, care management/utilization management, provider networks, medical bill review, return to work, outcomes and employer return on investment.

Upon completion of the review, MCA provides an employer with a plan summarizing the key areas for improvement and offering recommendations to improve operational work flow, reporting and benchmarking.

For information, contact Gina Gatti, senior consultant at MCA, 301-280-5920.

Recall policy

NEW YORK -- American International Group Inc. has introduced RecallResponse, a product recall insurance policy that provides coverage for first-party recall expenses and third-party liability.

RecallResponse covers recall expenses related to the notification of the incident, product shipping, disposal of the product, rental of warehousing/storage space, hiring of additional personnel and payment of overtime to current employees. Additionally, coverage can be purchased to pick up the cost of repair, replacement or refund of the product.

Policyholders also may choose third-party liability coverage, which will pay for certain third-party compensatory damages resulting from an insured product recall. RecallResponse is available as part of a commercial general liability policy or as a stand-alone policy.

The policy covers product recall incidents in which the use or consumption of a product has resulted in bodily injury or property damage or poses an imminent danger of bodily injury or property damage. Coverage is triggered by the earlier of the initial oral or written publication of the product recall, or the policyholder's initial notice to the insurer. Either event must take place during the policy period.

The RecallResponse policy provides separate liability limits for product recall expenses -- up to $5 million -- and third-party liability coverage -- up to $10 million.

For information, contact Vince DeConti, senior vp-foreign multinational division, 212-770-1007, or via the Internet at access. aig.com.

Hazard advice

WASHINGTON -- Businesses and workers have two new tools available to help identify job hazards and assess the cost of occupational injuries and illnesses.

The Hazard Awareness Advisor and Safety Pays are the latest additions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's line of interactive software that can be downloaded from the agency's World Wide Web site at www. osha.gov/oshasoft.

The Hazard Awareness Advisor is designed to help workers and employers, especially small businesses without professional safety and health consultants, spot potential workplace hazards. After questioning users about their activities, policies, materials and equipment, the program narrows the list of hazards that may be present. The software then prepares a customized report that briefly describes the likely hazards for that particular business.

The program is not a substitute for safety and health professionals. It is merely an introduction to hazard recognition. The need for this software was brought to OSHA's attention by the National Federation of Independent Business. Many trade and labor organizations suggested improvements to early versions of the software. OSHA now hopes to get more suggestions from the public for later versions.

Safety Pays software is designed to illustrate to employees the impact of occupational injuries and illnesses to a company's bottom line. Using data from the insurance industry, the program analyzes a lost workday scenario selected by the user and reports the average direct and indirect costs associated with that particular case. Using the company's profit margin, the software then estimates the amount of sales necessary to cover the costs of the incident.

For information, contact Edward Stern, software adviser packaging coordinator for OSHA, 202-219-8151, or visit www.osha.gov.