Beazley vs The Hartford Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Beazley underwrites dedicated EPL up to $20 million; The Hartford builds EPLI into many BOPs and footnotes four-state carve-outs.

What Is Beazley?

Beazley is a specialty insurance group whose MediaTech product combines technology and professional E&O, media and cyber coverage. Separate offerings address executive liability, digital health and other specialty risks. 1,2,3,4

Read the Beazley profile

What Is The Hartford?

The Hartford is the brand of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc., whose subsidiaries underwrite property-and-casualty insurance and employee benefits. Small-business buyers can start online or by phone or work through independent agents, while the issuing company and state eligibility still have to be confirmed on a quote. 6,7,8

Read the The Hartford profile

What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?

Employment practices liability insurance addresses claims alleging workplace wrongdoing, such as discrimination, harassment and wrongful termination. 10

Read the full coverage guide

Key Differences in Employment Practices Liability Insurance

How the Line Is Packaged

Beazley underwrites employment practices liability as a dedicated product and as part of ExecuGuard. The Hartford builds EPLI into its Business Owner’s Policy for most classes, includes it in Private Choice Premier, and also sells it stand-alone as Employers Premier Choice. 5 3 9

Four-State Built-In Carve-Outs

The Hartford’s footnotes say there is no built-in EPL coverage in California, Minnesota, North Dakota or New York, that the program described does not apply to EPL written in California, and that coverage and limits vary by state and class. Beazley’s reviewed sources do not describe those four-state built-in carve-outs. 9 5

Limits Published Before a Quote

Beazley advertises EPL limits up to US $20 million and does not publish standard retentions. The Hartford footnotes a $25,000 limit for Spectrum business written in Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company. 5 9

Training Tied to the Purchase

BeazleySure comes with Beazley’s EPL policy and includes harassment training, a hotline, wage-and-hour tutorials and bilingual model policies. The Hartford gives employers access to hartfordhelp.com training, articles and model policies if they purchase increased EPL limits, and says that program may not be available in all states. 5 9

What to Confirm in Employment Practices Liability Insurance Quotes

  • If you operate in California, Minnesota, North Dakota or New York, ask The Hartford what EPL path applies. 9
  • Confirm whether The Hartford quote is BOP-included, Private Choice Premier, Employers Premier Choice or Spectrum at the $25,000 footnote limit. 9
  • Compare Beazley’s $20 million advertised maximum with the Hartford limit and retention on the quote. 5 9
  • Ask both how wage-and-hour is treated: Hartford BOP defense cost, a Beazley sublimit, or Workplace Protect indemnity. 9 5

Offering Details

Beazley vs The Hartford Employment Practices Liability Insurance: documented features by provider

CriteriaBeazley Employment Practices LiabilityThe Hartford Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
Role in This Line

Beazley underwrites employment practices liability (EPL) coverage as a standalone product on its dedicated EPL page and as one of three coverages bundled in its ExecuGuard package policy alongside D&O and fiduciary liability. 5,3Company-reported. US EPL as described on the two reviewed product pages; does not establish which entity issues a particular policy.

The Hartford's EPLI is built into its Business Owner's Policy for most classes, is included in its Private Choice Premier package policy, and is also sold stand-alone as Employers Premier Choice. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page as read 2026-09-23.

Issuing Insurer

The EPL product page does not name the specific Beazley insurance entity that issues the policy. 5Not found in reviewed sources. EPL page as read on 2026-09-23; the issued policy's declarations control the actual insurer.

The Hartford names Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company as the writing company for the described $25,000 Spectrum EPL limit, though other EPLI products on the page (BOP-included, Private Choice Premier, Employers Premier Choice) are not each tied to a named writing company on this page. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page footnote as read 2026-09-23.

Who It’s For

Beazley says it considers employers in all industries with up to 30,000 employees, with no stated employee-count limit for staffing firms, and describes an appetite for harder-to-place classes such as law firms, hospitality, high-tech, healthcare, retail and transportation; healthcare risks are instead written through Beazley Remedy. 5Company-reported. EPL product page eligibility description; actual acceptance depends on underwriting review of a specific applicant.

The Hartford's footnotes say there is no built-in EPL coverage in California, Minnesota, North Dakota or New York, and that the EPL program described on the page does not apply to EPL coverage written in California. Coverage and limits also vary by state and business class. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page footnotes as read 2026-09-23 (page last updated by The Hartford November 26, 2025).

Coverage Features

The EPL policy covers a broad range of discrimination, harassment and other "inappropriate employment conduct" claims, lets the policyholder choose between "duty to defend" and "pay on behalf" claim handling, and includes industry-specific wordings for classes such as law firms, accountants, staffing firms and PEOs. 5Company-reported. EPL product page coverage description; exclusions and conditions are set by the issued policy.

Beazley lists sublimited extensions for immigration-practices defense costs and OSHA proceedings, and a wage-and-hour defense-costs sublimit subject to underwriting; standalone wage-and-hour indemnity (not just defense costs) is sold separately through Beazley's Workplace Protect product. 5Company-reported. EPL product page; sublimit amounts are not published and appear only on a quote.

The Hartford says its EPLI covers claims of discrimination (including age), retaliation, FMLA violations, wrongful discipline or termination, failure to promote, and harassment, and that third-party EPLI (claims from customers, vendors or business invitees, not just employees) is included for most businesses. Its BOP also automatically includes Wage and Hour Defense Cost coverage as part of the built-in EPLI. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page as read 2026-09-23. General coverage description; the issued policy controls.

Limits and Retentions

Beazley advertises EPL limits up to US $20 million. The reviewed page does not publish standard retentions. 5Company-reported. Advertised maximum capacity, not a guaranteed quote amount or published retention.

The Hartford's EPLI footnote states a $25,000 limit applies to Spectrum business written in Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page footnote as read 2026-09-23. Applies specifically to Spectrum-program business at that writing company; other products/limits are not addressed.

Risk Services

EPL policyholders get free access to BeazleySure, Beazley's online risk-management platform, which the EPL page says includes sexual harassment training, a telephone hotline, wage-and-hour tutorials, and model policies and procedures in English and Spanish. 5Company-reported. EPL product page service description; actual entitlements depend on the policy purchased.

The Hartford says it gives employers access to hartfordhelp.com, a proprietary site with web-based training on topics like sexual harassment and wrongful termination, current articles on employment-practices trends, and model employment policies and handbooks; this program requires purchase of increased EPL limits and may not be available in all states. 9Company-reported. EPLI product page as read 2026-09-23.

How to Apply

Beazley lists an ExecuGuard application, an EPL renewal application and a staffing supplemental application as downloadable tools on the EPL page; the reviewed page does not describe a self-service online quoting flow for new business. 5Company-reported. EPL product page Tools & Resources section as read on 2026-09-23.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Claims Support

Beazley says it has dedicated employment claims personnel, including a named EPL claims focus-group leader, who work with outside employment lawyers across the country to resolve claims; no claims-outcome statistics are published on the page. 5Company-reported. EPL product page team listing; claims-handling quality is not independently assessed.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Full Comparison

More Beazley vs The Hartford Comparisons

Other Employment Practices Liability Insurance Comparisons

Sources

Beazley

  1. MediaTech for Small Businesses. Beazley; Opening product description; What we offer: E&O (Tech and Professional), Media, Cyber coverage includes; How can we help; SME placement paragraph; Tools & Resources. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Execuguard (Combined EPL, D&O, and Fiduciary). Beazley; What we offer: separate or shared limits among EPL, D&O and fiduciary; Limits up to US $20,000,000, both admitted and non-admitted available. Accessed 2026-09-23.
  3. Virtual Care. Beazley; Available Coverages; Who we can help; Where is this offered. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  4. Employment Practices Liability. Beazley; What we offer: employment law experts, superior claims handling, BeazleySure; How can we help: duty to defend/pay on behalf, industry-specific wordings, sublimits; Who we can help; Where is this offered: Worldwide; Tools & Resources. Accessed 2026-09-23.

The Hartford

  1. SaaS Insurance for Your Business. The Hartford; Audience list (software startups, SaaS, IT consulting); Get a Business Owner’s Policy; What Is Business Owner’s Policy Insurance?; general liability introduction and Get a Quote; Get Commercial Property Insurance; Commercial Property Insurance for Your Business; Benefits of The Hartford’s WC Insurance for Employers and Employees; cyber insurance and data breach descriptions; Get a quote for cyber insurance; EPLI introduction and Private Choice Premier; add-ons (workers’ compensation, data breach, commercial auto); technology professional liability mention; small-business availability banner; industry-average premium footnote; footnote 2 state restrictions; footer product-availability disclosure. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  2. Find a Local Insurance Agent. The Hartford; Small-business and midsize agent locators; FAQ that buyers can purchase without an agent by calling or quoting online; statement that agents may charge fees. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  3. Employment Practices Liability Insurance | EPL Insurance. The Hartford; What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?; Why Do I Need EPLI?; If You Have Employees, You Need EPLI; Prevention Is Your Best Protection; footnotes 1-4 on state availability and Wage and Hour Defense Cost. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance Guide

  1. Employment Practices Liability Insurance. Insurance Information Institute; Opening; What EPLI covers; Steps to limit employment liability risk. Accessed 2026-09-16.

Updated . Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. The comparison applies the same criteria to both providers. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with the page URL and supporting source.

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