Commercial Insurance · Product Capability
Employers Liability Insurance
Serving middle-market employers across Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region, Simpson | McCrady structures employers liability coverage that protects your business when a workplace injury claim becomes a civil lawsuit, and the gap in your workers' comp policy becomes visible.
Why This Requires Expertise
What Is Employers Liability Insurance, and Why Does It Require a Specialist?
Employers liability insurance is the coverage that responds when a workers' compensation claim escalates into a civil lawsuit, protecting your business from damages an injured employee seeks beyond the statutory limits of your workers' comp policy. In plain terms: it fills the gap between what workers' compensation pays as a matter of law and what an employer can be held liable for in court.
In Pennsylvania, the intersection of state workers' compensation statutes, employer duty-of-care obligations, and an evolving employment law landscape creates a layered risk environment that a standard policy alone cannot navigate. The exposure becomes critical when an employee alleges negligence beyond a routine workplace injury: third-party-over actions, dual-capacity claims, or loss-of-consortium suits brought by a spouse. These are not edge cases; they are the scenarios that produce six- and seven-figure verdicts against employers who believed their workers' comp program was sufficient.
For Pennsylvania employers using a private workers' compensation carrier, employers liability coverage is typically included as Part Two of the standard policy. But policy structure, limits, and exclusions vary significantly by carrier, industry, and workforce profile, and the right configuration for a manufacturing operation in the Ohio Valley is not the right configuration for a professional services firm in Pittsburgh's Central Business District. This is precisely where an independent commercial insurance broker delivers measurable value: an objective assessment of your actual exposure, access to markets matched to your risk profile, and an advocate working for you, not the carrier, when a claim arises.
Simpson | McCrady's commercial specialists have structured employers liability programs for middle-market businesses across Western Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region, in manufacturing, healthcare, technology, professional services, and beyond. We bring the regulatory knowledge, carrier relationships, and claims-advocacy experience to ensure your coverage is built correctly before you need it.
What We Cover
What Employers Liability Insurance Covers
What This Coverage Includes
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Statutory Employers Liability (Part Two Coverage)
The standard employers liability coverage included as Part Two of a workers' compensation policy — protects against employee lawsuits alleging employer negligence beyond statutory workers' comp benefits.
Stop-Gap Coverage (Pennsylvania)
For Pennsylvania employers who self-insure their workers' compensation obligation or operate in jurisdictions with a monopolistic state fund, stop-gap coverage fills the employers liability gap those arrangements leave exposed.
Third-Party-Over Actions
Coverage for situations in which an injured employee sues a third party — such as a contractor or equipment manufacturer — who then brings a claim back against the employer, creating an indirect but significant liability exposure.
Dual-Capacity Claims
Protection when an employer faces a civil lawsuit in a capacity beyond that of employer — for example, as the manufacturer of a product that injured an employee — a scenario that workers' comp statutes typically do not bar.
Loss of Consortium Claims
Coverage for claims brought by an injured employee's spouse or dependents seeking damages for loss of companionship or support resulting from a work-related injury — a category of exposure often overlooked in standard policy reviews.
Consequential Bodily Injury
Addresses claims where a family member suffers a bodily injury as a consequence of a workplace injury — for instance, a spouse who develops a stress-related illness while caring for an injured worker.
Employment Practices Liability (Adjacent Coverage)
While distinct from employers liability, EPLI addresses a related and increasingly material exposure — wrongful termination, harassment, and discrimination claims. Simpson McCrady evaluates both coverages together to ensure no gap exists between them.
Industry-Specific Program Structuring
Manufacturing, healthcare, technology, professional services, real estate, and non-profit employers each carry distinct workforce profiles and regulatory environments. We structure employers liability programs to reflect your industry's specific exposure — not a one-size-fits-all form.
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Not Sure Your Current Coverage Goes Far Enough?
Our Approach
Independent Advocacy: From Risk Assessment Through Every Claim
Simpson | McCrady is an independent commercial insurance broker. That means we answer to our clients, not to any single carrier. When we structure an employers liability program, the starting point is a thorough assessment of your actual workforce risk: your industry, your claims history, your operations, and the specific legal environment in every state where you employ people. That assessment drives everything that follows, coverage structure, limits selection, carrier placement, and policy language review.
Our independence gives us access to a broad carrier marketplace, which matters most when your risk profile doesn't fit neatly into a standard underwriting box. Middle-market employers (particularly those in manufacturing, healthcare, or other industries with elevated frequency or severity exposure) benefit directly from a broker who can negotiate across multiple markets rather than being constrained to a single carrier's appetite. We know which carriers are performing well for specific industry segments in Pennsylvania, and we use that knowledge to place coverage that is both competitively priced and structurally sound.
The relationship doesn't end at binding. When a claim arises (and in any sufficiently large workforce, it eventually will), Simpson | McCrady's role is to serve as your advocate through the process. We monitor claims, facilitate communication between your team and the carrier, and ensure the coverage you purchased is being applied correctly. For middle-market buyers who have experienced the frustration of a claim managed at arm's length by a large national firm, this hands-on model is a concrete distinction. Our clients stay because the relationship delivers value every year, not just at renewal.
Firm Credentials
The Depth Behind Your Coverage
Speak With an Advisor
Speak with a Trusted Advisor
One straightforward conversation is all it takes to understand where your coverage stands, and where it should be. Protecting Tomorrow Today.
Prefer to call? 412-261-2222
info@simpson-mccrady.com