In an article written for the medical economics blog, “Do you need malpractice tail coverage?” <a href="https://www.medicaleconomics.com/authors/erik-leander">Erik Leander</a> addresses the most commonly asked questions about the intricacies of carrying this type of coverage.

“Tail Coverage” provides medical malpractice insurance coverage for claims brought after a claims-made insurance policy is terminated. Claims-made policies, the most common type of Medical Malpractice Insurance, provide coverage for claims brought against a physician resulting from services the physician provided during the time the claims-made policy was continuously in effect.

The common way to purchase this coverage is to make a decision within 30 days of canceling the policy you hold with your present malpractice company.

The Doctors Insurance Agency works with over 5,000 physicians in 500 facilities in 33 states, providing healthcare professional liability insurance. It is important to consider the differences between claims-made and occurrence policies, according to the American College of Physicians, when considering what type of Medical Malpractice Professional Liability Insurance to purchase. 

Occurrence policies differ from claims-made insurance in that they cover any claim for an event that took place during the period of coverage, even if the claim itself is filed after the policy lapses.

Occurrence policies are less common, especially in private practice with groups of 50 or fewer physicians. This is because occurrence premiums include a load calculated to compensate the carrier for coverage for liability insurance, protecting the doctor against claims that are presented in the future. This actuarial commitment requires more premium in the policy year.

A survey last year found that a quarter of adults in the United States don’t have a regular doctor. Some are wondering if they need one at all. Telemedicine can provide much of what conventional visits to clinics provide without the hassle of leaving work. taking time off, and struggling with traffic.

Healthcare experts say that the changing fragmented nature of healthcare is why people still need someone to help them navigate their healthcare. This is the traditional role of primary care physicians like family doctors, but arguably those health care providers do not always need face-to-face visits to do their job and to do it well.

Whether you are trying to insure a small facility like an independent imaging center or a  Medi-Spa, you are an innovative physician working for an institution and you are driven to do something different creative and scientific, so you’ve start your own clinical research organization, or if you are an individual physician working infrequently as an itinerant locum tenens, you’ll need Medical Malpractice Professional Liability Insurance. How claims are handled by your insurance is an important issue to resolve. It’s about two things: the cost of medical malpractice insurance now, and the cost to protect you for the work you do now in the future. This latter concept is widely misunderstood, but easily solved: Tail Insurance.

Historically "Tail Coverage" is an extended reporting period endorsement, offered by a physician's current malpractice insurance carrier, which allows an insured physician the option to extend coverage after the cancellation or termination of a claims-made policy

Tail is time sensitive and the premium is based on the recently passed work.

Tail coverage is only necessary when a Claims-Made policy is cancelled or terminated AND the insured physician cannot secure “Nose” coverage aka “prior acts” from a new insurance carrier.

Regardless of whether you are an independent aesthetician, a contracted  mid level provider, a telemedicine consultant  physician or are managing a healthcare facility, the costs of maintaining (and leaving) your medical professional liability insurance policy is a big business challenge (often one of the most significant challenges faced by our clients and policyholders).

Tail Insurance in medical malpractice insurance might be avoided and the premium savings can total into the thousands.

The ongoing ‘real time’ cost of insurance is tough, the state in which you practice can make or break the premium amount.  And, the untold story of potentially higher (lasting costs) of medical professional liability insurance is :  TAIL.  The price you pay to cover you going forward for the services you provided in the past.

There are ways around paying for tail; without a skilled insurance agent, broker or a creative group administrator, you could unnecessarily pay 50 – 75 % more than necessary

Medical Malpractice Tail Premium and Coverage

 

The Doctors’ Insurance Agency provides medical professional liability insurance for physicians and facilities.  In the past thirty years (we were founded in 1988) we have probably answered the question about the high cost and the importance of providing tail insurance for the work that you’ve done over the past weeks, months or many years. Tail insurance can be purchased immediately following the cancellation of a policy by following the terms of the policy; most ‘admitted’, preferred medical malpractice insurance companies charge between 200 and 250 % of the expiring premium to provide a tail policy protecting you  indefinitely into the future.

Medical Clinics can purchase Medical Malpractice Policies that can provide (or offset) the cost of tail.

Often clinics (Urgent Care Centers, Internal Medicine/Primary Care Groups)  and medical groups specializing in pain management struggle with the challenge of  on-boarding physician while  promising to responsibly provide their Medical Malpractice Insurance …which is common and mandatory in order to recruit internal medicine physicians and pain management specialist physicians …but how do you afford to manage the seemingly inevitable cost of future cost of claims. 

The future cost of claims is referred to as tail insurance (which is defined as :  Tail Coverage (Extended Reporting Coverage) 
Coverage that protects the physician against all claims that arise from professional services performed while the claims-made policy was in effect, but which were reported after the termination of the policy. Some insurers offer this feature free of charge for retiring doctors who meet certain requirements

There are many reasons to change medical professional liability insurers. The most common reason is due to an increase in premium.  The medical malpractice insurance market has been quite stable since 2006 with carriers holding their rates steady, even decreasing them in competitive locations or favorable legal venues.  While the Medical Professional Liability Insurance market is relatively steady, costs continue to be high compared to other lines of commercial insurance coverages.  When determining where to cut costs in your medical practice, do not look towards changing insurance carriers from a claims-made policy without purchasing tail coverage. 

This is one of the most commonly asked questions of by our Telemedicine Specialists. Understandably so…because….One of the most important costs to contain as you develop and implement your telemedicine organization is the mandatory (and sometimes prohibitively high) cost of medical professional liability insurance. And, one of the most common obstacles in the way of recruiting new physicians to the organization is the concerns about covering their Tail.