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At HCP National Insurance Services we proudly provide malpractice insurance coverage in the state of California to all of the following specialties:
The occurrence malpractice insurance policy will apply to all claims that occur during the time that you had the insurance coverage. It is not necessary for you to purchase any tail insurance, as any wrongful acts that occurred within the time that you had the policy will be eligible. It does not matter if your insurance policy is current. This type of insurance is more costly. This is because it gives you more coverage, as well as eliminating the need for having tail coverage. The price that you would pay for occurrence policy is what you would pay for the claims made plus a tail policy.
With the prior acts coverage, you will not have coverage for any wrongful acts that had occurred before the retroactive date. For instance, if your retroactive date is 1/01/2010, you cannot submit a claim for any acts that happened before 1/01/2010. However, you will be able to for any that occurred after this date. If you submit claims for something before the retroactive date, your carrier will not even respond.
HCP National Insurance Services provides quotes that include full prior wrongful acts, whenever it is possible to do so. Doctors will not have to buy tail when moving their insurance over. It is very beneficial for them, because they will not have a loss in insurance coverage. This means that there will be no adverse consequences with their medical practice.
With HCP National Insurance Services, you will not have to be trapped with the same insurance provider every year. It does not matter if you have past claims, if you find an alternative you can switch over without having a loss in coverage. You may need to go through the non-standard market for a medical board issue or some other issue, so this will be of great benefit to you. Speak to one of our representatives today about the types of coverage we offer.
Most states require that physicians carry professional liability coverage, and even in states that do not, hospitals require that physicians who practice in the facilities have malpractice insurance. Your medical malpractice insurance is likely to run less than 2% of your gross income in California while providing a high degree of protection. Of course, your policy benefits depend on choosing a reliable insurer that offers strong methods of managing risk by investigating claims, defending your position and providing essential support during the claims process.
Malpractice claims don’t just cause financial hardship but also affect many physicians emotionally and professionally despite the fact that most insurance companies don’t base premiums on litigation history. Fear about liabilities could cause you to order unnecessary tests and increase your costs of doing business far in excess of what you pay to get adequate malpractice coverage for your practice.
Medical malpractice insurance premiums in California might seem expensive, but the California medical community actually has a great deal of affordable protection, competitive rates and a wide array of carrier choices. California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 put caps in place on jury awards for malpractice lawsuits to limit the escalating costs of insurance that threatened to drive physicians, insurance companies and medical professionals out of the state. MICRA has served as a model for other states, reduced medical malpractice costs and strengthened the medical community’s hand in negotiating affordable insurance rates.
Professional liability policies in California cover property damage, bodily injuries, lost wages and less tangible damages such as mental anguish. Abuse of the latter option in medical claims resulted in California passing MICRA to limit pain-and-suffering punitive awards to $250,000, but no cost-of-living index was included in the law to keep pace with inflation.
The annual cost of medical malpractice falls between $17 and $29 billion according to the Institute of Medicine.[1] Punitive damages constitute less than 1% of total malpractice claims, and malpractice insurance typically costs about 3.2% of total medical revenue.
Several issues face California physicians and insurers in the current climate of escalating costs, increased government regulations and greater consumer awareness. MICRA has worked to keep costs manageable, but the 1975 limits of malpractice awards have become impractical. Limits of $250,000 no longer cover severe medical conditions and hospital stays or provide reasonable compensation for pain and suffering issues.
[1] Public Citizen: Quick Facts on Medical Malpractice Issues http://www.citizen.org/congress/article_redirect.cfm?ID=9125
HCP National Insurance Services offers practical advice, professional risk analyses, multiple-policy discounts and large-scale health insurance solutions that can limit your risk and exposure to the medical claims process; a substantial benefit for busy physicians who need to concentrate on core medicine instead of medical administration. You can minimize your exposure with high cost-value coverage and value-added services such as:
HCP National can help your practice limit all types of risks based on market rates, legal standards, regulations and how much risk you are willing to bear personally and professionally. Get comprehensive malpractice insurance for all medical specialties and levels of risk, and practice your profession with the secure knowledge that you are covered in any worst-case scenario.
When it comes to choosing an insurance provider, HCP National has access to a broad pool of policies and coverage territories, national resources and affiliations and sound financial strength helps to ensure quality coverage, multi-policy discounts and aggressive defense against malpractice claims.
