Axa XL’s Bermuda professional lines business has launched a new wage and hour policy to help mid-sized employers in the United States manage rapidly escalating risks.

The Bermudiana policy, named after the street location of Axa XL’s office in Pembroke, offers a full range of indemnity and defence W&H coverage to help mid-sized employers, with a maximum of 10,000 employees, respond to claims by single plaintiffs, class and collective actions, and mass arbitrations.

Michelle Bailey, head of professional, Bermuda, said: “W&H claim frequency and exposure is a growing risk for employers in all industries.

“Class and collective actions flood the legal landscape, with high certification rates achieved by the plaintiffs’ bar.

“Intricate and ever-changing W&H laws governing pay practices make compliance rife with pitfalls. Higher minimum wages, increased salary thresholds for exemptions under the US Fair Labour Standards Act and expanded overtime protections, all point to increased risk and exposure to defend costly litigations.

“This policy provides a solution for mid-sized employers that currently is not offered in the Bermuda market,” she noted, adding that Axa XL has been providing comprehensive W&H coverage to Fortune 500 companies and other large employers (with more than 10,000 employees) for more than a decade.

The Bermudiana policy has a $5 million limit and a minimum attachment of $1 million.

The policy features:

• Full W&H coverage that not only includes broadly defined statutory wage claims, but also common law violations

• Coverage for statutory damages, earned wages, restitutionary damages, liquidated damages, penalties, and attorneys’ fees

• New W&H perils addressing new laws and new risks emerging from the amorphous modern work place

• Covers claims by employees, independent contractors, and the government, including the US Department of Labour

• All the benefits of “claims-reported” coverage, including threshold and bordereau reporting

• Insureds select their own counsel