A singular settled claim without medical liability insurance can bankrupt a healthcare professional.
Medical malpractice coverage is known as medical liability insurance,
or as medical professional liability insurance. It is known to be one of the most expensive types of policies available, but it is an absolute necessity for healthcare providers in all specialties. Medical liability insurance covers physicians and other healthcare professionals against claims of negligence, bodily injuries, personal injuries, inferior care, and improper notification of risk.
What Kind Of Medical Liability Insurance Coverage Is Available?
Generally speaking, there are two types of policies. The first is called claims-made, and covers providers when both the incident and the claim occur during the insured period. The longer a policy is in place, the higher the risk that someone will file a claim, meaning that these premiums are typically lower toward the beginning of the policy. The premium increases with each additional year, until the policy reaches its mature rate. Tail coverage can also be purchased for coverage after the main policy is no longer in force.
The second type of medical liability insurance is an occurrence policy. For this kind of coverage, claims are covered as long as the incident occurred during the insured period, no matter how long afterward the claim occurs. This type of policy is much more expensive because the insurer is taking on the risk of the insured for a much longer period of time.
What If I Never Provide Sub-Standard Care? Do I Still Need Coverage?
The short answer? Yes. Just because every word that may come out of a healthcare professional's mouth is accurate and fully informing, and a mistake is never made, doesn't prevent the public from attempting to sue for a perceived damage. Despite being innocent of whatever claim is being brought against the insured, it still takes time away from a practice to complete investigations and defend actions in court. In addition, even if the physician feels as though no mistake was made, if a patient alleges that they suffered some damage directly stemming from the physician's actions, they have a case.
Many organizations are currently working on ways to reduce the cost of medical liability insurance and other physicians regulatory insurance. Since a single settled claim can literally bankrupt an uninsured healthcare professional, it's obvious that coverage is necessary, and also needs to be affordable, in order to keep our hospitals and cities full of practicing physicians.
What Other Factors Affect My Premiums?
Other criteria are also considered when determining the premium due from a healthcare professional. Geographical location, down to the county he or she practices in, provides the insurer with an idea of frequency of claims. In addition, specialty plays a large part in premium cost, since a dedicated surgeon will have different potential risks compared to a dermatologist. Ideally, you'll want to locate a brokerage that works with a variety of carriers, which will allow you to compare not only costs, but the benefits and restrictions for each policy as well.
