Medical liability insurance
Medical liability insurance is a form of insurance carried by those in the medical field. This type of insurance coverage is for protection from lawsuits and claims made against those in the medical field for negligence and malpractice. Medical liability insurance is a necessary insurance policy for medical professionals to have for their own protection. Doctor owned groups, hospitals and clinics also need to carry medical liability insurance. The mounting number of medical lawsuits against medical practitioners has limited the number of companies that offer medical liability insurance, but there are still a number of insurance companies that offer this kind of liability insurance. However, the premiums are typically very high so medical professionals need to research which type of coverage will best suit their needs at a reasonable price. The cheapest insurance is not necessarily the best insurance to buy.
You can purchase medical liability insurance directly through liability insurance brokers or through independent agents. An independent medical liability insurance agent is one that is authorized to sell policies from various companies. Going through an independent broker can help the medical practitioner to find the best policy for them at the best pricing. Usually the premium rates for medical liability insurance polices are fixed for certain medical fields. For example, an orthopedic surgeon can be charged a different premium than a general practitioner. Medical liability insurance is another name for medical malpractice insurance. Most medical doctors and large medical facilities are required to carry liability insurance in one form or another. Some medical doctors can be covered automatically if they have an employer, such as the government or a large hospital, that will cover them and who offers liability coverage as a job benefit.
There are different levels of medical liability insurance coverage that you can purchase, depending on the region or specialty. It is not unusual to find that high risk specialties, such as obstetricians, will need medical liability insurance plans that exceed $100,000 per year in premiums. This is because a medical malpractice lawsuit of this field can require the insurance company to pay a lifetime compensation for an infant that has been injured during delivery due to doctor negligence. It is easy to see that such large premiums for medical liability insurance are one reason for the high cost of medical care today.
There are generally two kinds of medical liability insurance plans available. One is the claims-made plans and the other is occurrence medical liability insurance plans. The claims-made plans are typically renewed every year and will pay for any claims that are made during the year no matter when the incident occurred. The incident has to have occurred after the original purchase of the claims made policy however. With this type of medical liability insurance the premiums start of low and increase each year for five years. When this type of insurance is cancelled, no future claims will be covered from the cancellation date on, even if an incident had occurred during the time of coverage. There is a separate tail coverage that can be purchased that will cover any addition claims after the cancellation for a short time. Occurrence medical liability insurance is the other type that will cover any claim that occurs during the coverage period. Occurrence medical liability insurance coverage is more expensive from the start and will cover all claims that occurred during the time the policy was in effect.
Without medical liability insurance doctors can be bankrupted by malpractice claims. Those in the medical profession who are shopping for such coverage can compare the different insurance companies or talk to independent brokers for the best policy for their needs as well as to compare prices. Different policies cover different things so be sure you know exactly what the policy you purchase covers.
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