Our TPA and advisor run the plan. Still our claim?

Selecting and monitoring them is your fiduciary act; their errors often become your claim first. Coverage plus vendor diligence, not either alone.

Is the ERISA bond involved here?

The bond covers plan-asset theft — a third thing entirely. Bond, fiduciary, EPLI: three instruments, three jobs.

What do fiduciary claims cost without coverage?

Defense-heavy and personal — ERISA reaches individuals. The modest premium exists because the exposure does.

Package or standalone?

Attached to the management liability package almost always — coordination is the point at this seam.

EPLI vs. Fiduciary Liability

	EPLI	Fiduciary Liability
Subject	Employment decisions	Benefit plans and their administration
Claimants	Employees, applicants	Participants, beneficiaries, DOL
Classic claim	Termination, discrimination	Excessive fees, enrollment errors, imprudence
Statutory backbone	Title VII, ADA, ADEA, state acts	ERISA
Exclusion to know	Benefits claims excluded	Employment claims excluded

Where the confusion comes from

Terminations generate both: the firing is EPLI, the COBRA notice missed in the same week is fiduciary. Programs carrying one line discover the other at the demand letter.

The ERISA §510 seam — firing someone to cut benefit costs — sits exactly between the forms, and which policy responds depends on wording read before the claim.

When you need both

Both lines live naturally in the management liability package, where the seam is one carrier’s internal question rather than two carriers’ correspondence. Explore D&O insurance, cyber liability, and fiduciary liability, or start with employment practices liability.

A claim that lands in the gap

Illustrative scenario

A terminated employee’s suit pairs discrimination counts with a claim that his final-month 401(k) contributions never posted; two counts, two coverages, one very good reason for the package.

Illustrative scenario

An employer’s plan-fee class action arrives at an EPLI-only program; the benefits exclusion answers before the carrier does.

Scenarios are illustrative composites, not descriptions of actual claims or outcomes. Whether any claim is covered depends on the policy issued.

How to decide

Any sponsored plan means fiduciary exposure exists beside the EPLI everyone remembers.
Check the §510 treatment in both forms — the seam should be assigned, not orphaned.
Fiduciary premiums are modest; the package attachment is the natural buy.
One application places both, aligned.

One application. Multiple A-rated carriers.

We market your account and you compare terms side by side — no obligation.

Get Multiple Quotes within minutes

Frequently asked questions

Our TPA and advisor run the plan. Still our claim?: Selecting and monitoring them is your fiduciary act; their errors often become your claim first. Coverage plus vendor diligence, not either alone.
Is the ERISA bond involved here?: The bond covers plan-asset theft — a third thing entirely. Bond, fiduciary, EPLI: three instruments, three jobs.
What do fiduciary claims cost without coverage?: Defense-heavy and personal — ERISA reaches individuals. The modest premium exists because the exposure does.
Package or standalone?: Attached to the management liability package almost always — coordination is the point at this seam.

Provident Financial Group is an independent insurance agency, not a carrier. We place coverage for epli vs. fiduciary liability in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Texas, California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Indiana, Nevada, and Arizona.