Medical practices assume risks that are some of the most personally impactful to patients.
Medical mistakes are usually very rare when a physician covers all the bases of care. But, they still occur from time to time. Mistakes in billing or treatment could financially devastate or physically harm a patient. Even the best physicians may inadvertently harm a patient, totally by accident.
Mistakes, however unintentional, could lead to financially ruinous liability claims against your practice. Make sure that your practice carries different forms of business and medical liability insurance. They can help you recover from these claims.
Most medical practices and physicians carry malpractice and business liability insurance policies. However, like most forms of insurance, these policies come with coverage limits. A coverage limit is the largest total amount of money that an insurance company will pay for a claim.
Why regular coverage limits may not be enough
When you select a policy, you often choose a set coverage limit. You can often adjust the coverage limits based on how much financial risk you assess in the business. Many areas require certain levels of liability insurance for physicians to practice. You can also choose the limit based on how much coverage you can afford.
However, just because you have a coverage limit doesn’t make it enough.
There may come a time when a devastating mistake or accident occurs. If an occurrence is severe enough, then the damages may exceed your coverage limits. This means that you still may owe a significant amount of money even if insurance honors your full claim.
For many physicians, that's why it's important to consider investing in commercial umbrella insurance.
What is commercial umbrella insurance?
Commercial umbrella insurance adds extra coverage levels to your policy. These coverage levels are outside of the scope of your normal business insurance.
Umbrella insurance can cover higher monetary levels. It may also cover liabilities that your traditional policies may not. So, you could potentially cover both extra risks and expensive risks to your practice.
Don’t take commercial umbrella insurance for granted
Commercial umbrella insurance may be an added layer of protection. However, this is no excuse to take unnecessary risks at your practice. Umbrella insurance will likely not cover you if you take negligent risks. Negligent risks unfairly put patients in danger’s way.
Always be careful in your practice. Make sure that you are following all rules to make your practice as safe as possible.
The Joseph A. Britton Agency can help you get the commercial umbrella insurance that you need. Give us a call today at (908) 654-6464 to learn more.