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.

In a recent article from a national respected insurance broker, I read about the demise of specific and lightly-financed Insurance Solutions for Medical Professional Liability, referred to as risk retention groups.

Full disclosure: we believe there is a place for risk retention groups in the market. Just because one of them does not make it and has to be rescued, or the policy holders have to leave them, it does not mean that all coverage is lost and all claims are exposed, resulting in the insured Physicians losing personal assets. That would only happen in the event of an open and pending claim, or if a new insurance company was unwilling to write retroactive coverage.

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

How do you provide proper insurance:  the right type of clinical research liability insurance for your clinical research organization? Doesn’t the Pharmaceutical or Manufacturer provide indemnification clauses that cover the research organizations?

What if you are a clinical research organization that employs three investigators: (each an M.D. or D.O.) and many independently contracted sub investigators; Some of these (a combination of mid levels  (NP’s, CNM’s and PA’s).

When physicians are requested to provide protected (or seemingly protected) health information to Pharmacies, Hospitals, or other Health care organizations...Which, naturally runs counter to your  trained method of protecting that information and storing it securely.

 Pharmacies are increasingly demanding patients' personal health information before filling prescriptions. 

Are Pharmacies playing a heavy hand? 

Seems like a conflict reminiscent of the pharmacies refusing to fill birth control prescriptions for unmarried women.

There are now laws in place prohibiting that kind of discrimination. Now, the opioid crisis is initiating action that conflicts with protection. Pharmacies need to protect patients...Pharmacists tell patients that physician  have to send their records to the pharmacy before they'll dispense.  But, if the physician releases the information are they opening themselves up to a Hipaa violation, with civil fines and penalties:

A common question that we are asked at  The Doctors Insurance Agency – (an agency for The Doctors Company) and a national broker for medical professional liability insurance is in regards to whether a physician needs to purchase a separate Medical Director Liability Insurance Policy.  If you are asked to sign a contract as medical director for an Assisted Living Facilities, Pathology Labs, Endoscopy Labs, Medical Spas and other similar health care organization, you might be asked to provide your own medical director liability insurance policy. 

You may need one (regardless of whether the organization carries their own liability policy);  the key to understanding whether you need to purchase your own is understanding the contract language in the Medical Professional Liability Insurance Policy for the healthcare organization. 

We are often asked if the medical professional liability insurance policy that ‘covers’ the health care organization also provides liability cover for the Medical Director. 

Physician Owned Medical Malpractice, Medical Professional liability Insurance looks at where we are are today:  trends, challenges:

The Physicians Insurance Association meets annually with each of its specialty medical professional liability carriers to discuss growth and expense (payout) trends and other medical business dynamics that affect the future of these often smaller (relatively) medical malpractice insurance carriers. 

Dr. Richard Anderson is the Chair of the Physicians Insurance Association;  he shared his unique hard earned insights into the business of defending and protecting doctors from  malpractice claims and the future of financing and defending them. 

If you are joining the many physicians and other healthcare professionals who are starting your own  lifestyle medicine center and you need to provide liability insurance for other MD's or allied providers, The Doctors' Insurance Agency has a medical professional liability policy to fit this full or part time practice.

Whether you  are the founder of a clinic, and you need a policy to cover you, your business, or the non-medical staff; or you  need a part time policy  to cover you (separate from your regular medical group policy), we can help you  find the right policy.