Title: Fiduciary Liability Insurance Guidance Source: https://ethosbenefits.com/services/fiduciary-insurance Publisher: Ethos Benefits Summary: Ethos Benefits helps plan sponsors review and size fiduciary liability, D&O and E&O coverage for the people who make decisions about the health plan. 1. [Home](https://ethosbenefits.com/) 2. [Services](https://ethosbenefits.com/services) 3. Fiduciary liability insurance. # Fiduciary liability insurance. Protection for the people who decide. The people who make decisions about your health plan can be personally liable for a fiduciary breach, and other company policies often don't cover it. Ethos Benefits reviews your fiduciary liability, D&O and E&O coverage, identifies the gaps, and helps you and your insurance broker put the right protection in place. [Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis) ## What you get. Many companies assume their D&O policy protects plan fiduciaries, and it often excludes ERISA claims. The ERISA fidelity bond protects the plan, not the people on the committee. 1. **Coverage review** Your current fiduciary liability, D&O and E&O policies read for ERISA exclusions, limits, retentions and who counts as an insured. 2. **Gap analysis** Where the people who act as plan fiduciaries are exposed, and what coverage would close the gap. 3. **Placement guidance** Coverage specifications for your insurance broker, and the quotes reviewed with you side by side. 4. **Fidelity bond check** Whether your plan needs an ERISA fidelity bond, and whether the bond in place meets the requirement. 5. **Committee briefing** A plain explanation for your committee of what is covered, what is not and why it matters. ## Who is _personally exposed._ ERISA makes a fiduciary who breaches a duty personally liable to restore the plan’s losses (ERISA § 409). A fiduciary is anyone with discretionary authority over the plan, which usually includes the people on your benefits committee and the executives who make plan decisions. [Read who counts as a fiduciary](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary). ## Three kinds of _protection._ | Coverage | Protects | Covers | | --- | --- | --- | | **Fiduciary liability insurance** | The plan’s fiduciaries | Defense costs and losses from claims of a breach of fiduciary duty | | **ERISA fidelity bond** | The plan | Losses from fraud or dishonesty by people who handle plan funds | | **D&O insurance** | Directors and officers | Management liability claims, often with an ERISA exclusion | ERISA allows a plan, a fiduciary or the employer to buy insurance that covers fiduciaries (ERISA § 410(b)). Coverage doesn’t replace a prudent process. It protects the people who follow one. ## Part of your Fiduciary Framework™. Every Ethos service reports to your benefits committee. The work is reviewed at your quarterly committee meeting, each decision is recorded with the reasoning behind it, and the record lives in your Ethos Fiduciary OS. That is what lets your committee show the plan was run prudently. [See the Fiduciary Framework™](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-framework) · [How fiduciary governance works](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/fiduciary-governance) ## Related reading. - [**ERISA bond requirements** Benefits 101: ERISA bond requirements, including who must be bonded, the 10% rule, when health plans need a bond, what it covers, and how it differs from a fidelity bond.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/erisa-bond) - [**ERISA health plan litigation** Insight: ERISA health plan lawsuits over drug prices, PBM contracts, tobacco surcharges and voluntary benefits. What each case alleges, where it stands, and what to do.](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation) - [**ERISA bond cost** Benefits 101: What drives ERISA fidelity bond cost, how to calculate the required bond amount under ERISA section 412, and when a health plan needs a bond at all.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/erisa-bond-cost) [Browse everything in Learn](https://ethosbenefits.com/learn) ## Sources 1. [29 U.S. Code § 1109, liability for breach of fiduciary duty (ERISA § 409)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/1109), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School 2. [29 U.S. Code § 1110, exculpatory provisions and insurance (ERISA § 410)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/1110), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School 3. [29 U.S. Code § 1112, bonding (ERISA § 412)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/1112), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School ## Questions employers ask about this. Does Ethos sell fiduciary liability insurance? No. Ethos reviews your coverage and helps you and your insurance broker get the right protection in place. The policy is placed by your broker. Is an ERISA bond the same as fiduciary insurance? No. An ERISA fidelity bond protects the plan against fraud or dishonesty by people who handle plan funds. Fiduciary liability insurance protects the fiduciaries themselves against claims of a breach of duty. Does our D&O policy cover ERISA claims? Often not. Many D&O policies exclude ERISA claims, which is why fiduciary liability coverage is usually written separately. The only way to know is to read your policy. Who should be covered? Everyone who acts as a fiduciary of the plan: the company, committee members, and officers and employees who make or carry out plan decisions. ## Keep reading Related to this page. - [**Fiduciary governance** Ethos Benefits sets up and runs your health plan benefits committee, with a charter, quarterly meetings, minutes and a record of every decision and why. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/fiduciary-governance) ## See what your plan is really costing you. A Strategic Analysis starts with your plan documents and your broker agreement, then shows you what your plan costs, where the risk sits, and what a committee would decide with the full picture. [Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis) [Call (407) 803-4710](tel:+14078034710)