When a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the odds are actually in the doctor’s favor. However, this is often cold comfort for a dedicated healthcare professional who has just been served with a notice of the complaint. It’s always best to be prepared and solid preparation involves having a strong healthcare liability insurance policy. If you’re in the market for a new policy or it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed the terms of your current policy, you may need to brush up on some basic insurance terms and concepts. Remember to contact a malpractice insurance agency near Miami if you have questions.

Liability Limits
When reviewing your policy or selecting new coverage options, always check the liability limits. For locum tenens insurance policies, the usual limits are one million per incident and three million for the life of the policy. The former is often referred to as the “individual limit,” while the latter is typically known as the “aggregate limit.”

Modified Occurrence Policies
You probably already understand the differences between claims-made hospital malpractice insurance and occurrence coverage. Occurrence policies cover all claims made that stem from incidents that took place during the life of the policy, while claims-made policies only provide coverage while the policy is active. But did you know that there’s a hybrid policy? You might select healthcare liability insurance in the form of a modified occurrence policy. This means that you’ll have coverage on a claims-made basis. However, the policy also includes an Extended Reporting Period (ERP), commonly referred to as a “tail.” This tail will expire after a set period, which begins at the expiration of the policy. Often, the period is seven years. Sometimes, the healthcare professional may be able to purchase an unlimited ERP upon the expiration of the initial ERP.

Policy Exclusions
It’s always a good idea to fully understand your coverage exclusions. The policy exclusions for healthcare liability insurance are fairly standard. Policies do not typically cover claims that arise from illegal conduct, records alteration, or sexual improprieties. Exclusions also tend to apply when items have been misrepresented on the policy application. If your policy contains additional exclusions that you’re unfamiliar with, contact the healthcare liability insurance company for clarification.

For healthcare professionals, the risk of professional liability in Palm Beach means that a comprehensive, yet affordable malpractice insurance policy is absolutely essential. However, while you’re exploring healthcare liability insurance policies, consider the potential risk for a medical malpractice lawsuit based on a breach of network security. Now that more practices have shifted to maintaining electronic health records (EHRs), the security of private patient information is more important than ever.

For a brief introduction to this issue, watch this animated video. It explains the importance of making sure your professional liability insurance would cover you in the event that a patient sues regarding an alleged breach of his or her private health information.

The ancient Hippocratic Oath has undergone many revisions over the years, yet its basic principles remain constant. And while physicians may strive to uphold these tenets and provide the best possible care to their patients, it’s nearly impossible not to come across a disgruntled patient on occasion. Healthcare liability insurance is an inescapable component of modern medicine. Whether you’re a new resident or you’re a veteran thinking about transitioning to another practice, it is well worth your time to brush up on the basics of medical malpractice insurance . When evaluating affordable malpractice insurance in Palm Beach, consider the following factors.

Selecting a Medical Malpractice Insurer
Medical malpractice insurance companies are not all alike. Physicians generally prefer to choose an insurer that has plenty of industry experience. When you choose a company that has provided med-mal policies for several decades, you can rest assured that their customer service representatives are highly knowledgeable and can provide you with a comprehensive yet affordable medical malpractice insurance policy.

Deciding Between Claims Made and Occurrence Coverage
Many healthcare providers choose occurrence policies because they provide the most comprehensive coverage for a particular policy term. In fact, whether or not a practice’s coverage is occurrence coverage may play a significant role in determining whether to accept a particular position. With occurrence coverage, a physician is covered for all claims that arise from incidents that occurred during the policy term, regardless of when the claim is filed. This means that if you had occurrence coverage from 2011 to 2014, the policy will cover a medical malpractice claim based on a 2013 incident even if it was not filed until 2015. In contrast, claims made policies only provide coverage for as long as the policy is active.

Purchasing an Extended Reporting Endorsement
Even if you do choose to purchase claims made coverage, you can give yourself extra protection by purchasing an extended reporting endorsement, or tail. A tail may be purchased shortly after the cancellation of the claims made policy. It enables the insured physician to report claims despite the cancellation of the policy.

Given the litigious climate of today’s healthcare field , it only makes sense for med students to give careful consideration to hospital malpractice insurance before committing to a specialty, such as emergency medicine. Although it is certainly possible to find affordable emergency medicine malpractice insurance near Miami, students should bear in mind that ER doctors typically pay more in premiums than other specialties. In fact, according to Chron, emergency medicine doctors paid a median of $20,000 in healthcare liability insurance premiums in 2011. The median for all medical specialties combined for that same year was $14,700.

However, this statistic shouldn’t necessarily alarm med students who are considering a career in the ER. Often, healthcare liability insurance is included as part of a total compensation package from the hospital. And while one might think that ER doctors are sued more frequently than other specialties, this assumption is incorrect. In addition, when ER doctors do lose lawsuits, the malpractice payoff is typically less than the average.