Understanding Claims-Made - Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance

Understanding Claims-Made - Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance

As a doctor, surgeon, or other health professional it is somewhat easy to get lost in types and plans of medical malpractice insurance available.

By far the most common type of medical malpractice insurance is claims-made coverage. This type of coverage covers all types of malpractice claims that a patient files during the policy period. Since it usually takes some time between an alleged event of malpractice and a claim to be filed, the first annual premium for claims-made insurance often starts out relatively low. This premium will increase over the next 5-7 years until it matures and levels off.

For a doctor or surgeon practicing in Florida, claims-made medical malpractice insurance offers several important benefits over the less common types of insurance. For one thing, claims-made coverage does not overcharge you (typically) by attempting to predict what your future costs will be.

The premiums paid are based on the historical and current claims for practitioners in similar fields, offering a realistic price.

Additionally, claims-made policies allow a doctor to increase their medical malpractice insurance limits when desired. The policy holder in FL may decide to increase the amount of liability coverage due to inflation, increased practice size, or other factors. It is advisable to acquire a claims-made policy that allows you, the policy holder, to use the liability limits that are operational when the claim is filed vs. when the alleged incident occurred. Thus, if you have increased your coverage since the time of the alleged incident, you will be able to use those limits.

One drawback about the claims-made type plan is that it only covers clients that you serviced while holding the policy.

Should you discontinue your policy, you will need to acquire tail coverage or retroactive coverage. While this is another topic entirely, it is an important one that deserves your attention.

For Florida medical malpractice insurance information including claims, rates, claims-made malpractice insurance and more visit our site.

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