Medical Malpractice Insurance —
for “Non-Standard” risks
Schweickert & Company specializes in helping physicians place their medical malpractice coverage if they have been cancelled or non-renewed by an insurance carrier and need to find new coverage. We will work with a doctor to help correct the practice problem that led to the non-renewal and will continually work to get the client back into a standard insurance program.
There are many reasons why insurance companies might classify a doctor as other than a standard risk. Some of the more common reasons are as follows:
1. Adverse claims history – severity or frequency
If there is a very large claim or several large claims or if there are a
large number of small claims insurance companies will put an applicant into
a non-standard classification. All insurance companies require at least 5
years of claims history and most want 10 years to consider an application
for coverage.
2. Medical board action or License suspension
Any action of a state medical board that involves a complaint by a patient
or medical facility or the suspension of a license will put the doctor in
a non standard classification. No insurance company will provide coverage
to a doctor with a suspended license.
3. Gaps in coverage
If there is an uninsured gap in coverage for any length
of time this will normally put a doctor into a non-standard policy. This
is due to the possibility
of the insurance company being liable for coverage during the gap.
4. Substance abuse
Any doctor who has had a problem with substance abuse and
is in a treatment program will normally have to complete the program and
have several additional
years pass before he would be eligible for a standard coverage.
5. Coverage outside of specialty
Sometimes a doctor will want to practice outside
of his or her specialty. Without specific training, such as additional residencies
or fellowships
in the new specialty, they will usually fall into a non-standard class.
6. Practice affiliation
A doctor may qualify individually for a standard insurance
program, but due to his practice affiliation he may be forced into a non-standard
program
because of the practice circumstance or the other physicians he is associated
with.
It is always possible for a physician to get back into standard coverage
if circumstances change and corrections are made to the practice. The time
it takes to get back into a standard program will vary depending on the original
problem. If the problem is corrected and there are no new incidents, most
insurance companies will consider a doctor for standard coverage after three
or four years in a non-standard program.
Schweickert & Company
15 Peters Canyon Road
Irvine, CA 92606
800-748-6293 • 714-436-6400
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