As a doctor and medical practitioner, you are prone to face lawsuits much more frequently than expected. There are multiple ways to obtain medical malpractice insurance coverage, but each has its ramifications and benefits.
Two Basic Types of Medical Malpractice Insurance
The first and most common way is to let your employer buy your medical malpractice insurance. Typically, these plans are suitable for groups, but the coverage ramifications are complex. His employer-based malpractice insurance gets canceled, once he leaves that particular institute.
When he buys a new policy, it will not provide coverage for the previous years. If one of his older patients makes a malpractice claim, none of the insurance policies will provide coverage for that claim. Therefore, many doctors decide to get their coverage as it provides them with more flexibility and benefits.
In such a scenario, it is wise to hire an independent broker who can get you a comprehensive medical liability insurance plan after searching through the marketplace. When you buy a policy, it will allow you to practice from any location while keeping you covered for the malpractice claims.
These policies provide you the option of covering your prior acts at the time of renewal; thus, you will have insurance against past malpractice claims. If you wish to cancel your policy, the provider will provide you with the tail coverage.
How to Keep Yourself with an Employer Malpractice Insurance Plan
According to a leading insurance authority Dubai, businesses should look to ensure that theyare completely covered in terms of negligence lawsuits. You might be providing the best and safest working conditions, but accidents can take place. While the business might eventually walk-away free, you do not want to engage with the hassles, dates of hearing and the bad press, which comes from the same.
Sometimes, the healthcare organization will give you an option to choose between the coverage through them or buy an individual plan for yourself. If you choose former, ensure you get yourself tail coverage.
In such a case, you will have coverage for your prior acts even after resigning or leaving that organization. It is one of the main considerations for getting an employer bought malpractice insurance plan, as the risk factor is too high and may even cost you, your profession.
If you are unable to get tail coverage, you can decide to buy the same policy as your own and maintain its renewal cost. Claims-made policies tend to be complicated when using an employer-based insurance plan.
This policy keeps you covered when someone files a claim, regardless of the fact when the malpractice event took place. However, when you cancel that particular policy, you will not have coverage for the claims made even if the incident took place during the insured period.
This is why most medical practitioners buy an add-on, which is tail coverage. It keeps covered for the incidents taken place during the policy tenure, as well as claims after expiration or cancellation of the policy.
The Third Type of Medical Malpractice Insurance Policy
There is another type of policy known as medical malpractice occurrence insurance policy. It combines the ramifications of claims-made and tail coverage to provide you with a wide range of benefits. The only downside to this policy is higher premiums.
Choosing a policy plan is dependent upon your requirement. You can compare each policy type on websites like Advanced Professional to better understand the offerings, limitations, and charges.