Also known as Med Mal insurance, Medical Malpractice Insurance covers a wide range of medical professionals from doctors to dentists, nurses and pharmacists. We are here to help you with your Medical Malpractice Insurance. Find out which policies are best suited to your situation and speak with a member of the Enhance team to find out how we can help.
What constitutes as Medical Malpractice?
Medical Malpractice Insurance is a special type of Professional Liability Insurance that provides coverage to medical professionals. It protects those insured from certain costs or damages for which you may become liable. Malpractice insurance, referred to as Medical Malpractice ins, covers neglect during patient care or procedures, including advice or services that lead to bodily or mental damage.
This damage could be an injury or even death as a result of the claimed negligent care of the medical professional. Medical malpractice can be a mistake or an omission in a medical procedure or care, including third parties on your premises.
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Do you need Medical Malpractice Insurance? What type is suitable for different practices?
We work with medical professionals who are members of regulatory bodies and are fully qualified for their procedures. For those with malpractice insurance medical regulators typically require it as a standard. This standard is to ensure that their members can uphold their obligations in legal fees and compensation to their clients should a negligence claim be made against them.
The professions we normally work with are BAAPS/BAPRAS registered plastic surgeons, GMC registered doctors, NMC registered nurses, GDC registered dentists and dental hygienists and GPHC registered pharmacists.
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What are the different types of insurances available? What do they cover?
Our most common medical liability malpractice insurance can be purchased online in minutes for smaller businesses. Those larger businesses with more staff and services may want to contact our team for a more tailored policy. We can look at different covers your business might need. These covers include but are not limited to:
- Professional Indemnity
- Public/General and Product Liability
- Breach of professional confidentiality
- Libel and slander
- Inquest costs
- General Medical Council Investigation Costs
- Automatic Run-off for 5 years (for death, retirement or disability)
- Information Security and Privacy Liability
We insure many different types of businesses in the medical aesthetics and cosmetics industries. We can offer various covers under one or more policies.
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How can Enhance help? / What is Enhance’s role?
The landscape of the medical and health sector is continually changing, with countless new discoveries, technologies and techniques. Therefore, it’s important to work with an insurance partner like Enhance that is readily equipped to meet the dynamic transformations of the industry.
We are specialist aesthetic and cosmetic insurance brokers working with regulatory bodies, training professionals and medical business owners. We work to ensure their businesses are covered by Medical Malpractice Insurance along with their services, assets, staff and client’s welfare. Improving the duty of care to patients with reassurance that in worst case scenarios compensation is available for any damage caused by the medical professionals.
With our panel of Medical Malpractice insurers, we work to identify what risks your business currently faces and will face in the future. We only work with professionals in the industry and review the cover they are on with every renewal, so you are not overpaying or over insuring as to save funds and focus on areas of the business that are susceptible to risk.
What are the legal obligations and liabilities of your practice regarding Medical Malpractice?
A duty of care is providing a reasonably expected level of care to the client or third party on your premises during a procedure or treatment. This duty of care is recognised in UK law, and Doctors, Surgeons, Nurses, etc., must abide by it. If a medical professional fails in their duty of care, they could have a medical negligence claim made against them, therefore the need for medical insurance malpractice.
What should you do if a patient alleges malpractice or files a lawsuit against your practice?
You should first gather all possible evidence; this could be notes, files, or recorded imagery before and after the service/procedure. Then, you should notify your Medical Malpractice insurers of a possible or current case against you for a Medical Malpractice Insurance claim. If you are a member of a regulatory body, they may also offer you a legal counsel.
What support services are available to assist your practice in managing the complexities of Medical Malpractice risk?
Best Medical Malpractice Insurance practice is to review your services and ensure that the covers in your policy cover them entirely. When adding new services that fall outside the scope of that cover, it is best to consult with your Medical Malpractice insurers or brokers as to what changes may need to be made to accommodate for the growth of your services.
You can also become a member of a regulatory body that will help you stick to the standards they hold in the industry. The benchmarks they set along with staff training and policy reviews are good ways to mitigate risks. We work with these regulatory bodies and training schools. Advising them on malpractice and liability insurance while providing recourses for their members regarding information on how to buy Medical Malpractice insurance online.
How are claims resolved?
In the event of a claim, such as receiving a request for compensation or a solicitor’s letter, it is crucial to contact your insurer as soon as possible. At Enhance Insurance Services, we have a dedicated claims team ready to assist you.
When notifying us of a new claim, our team will require a summary of the incident, relevant dates and how it was resolved.
To support your claim effectively, ensure that you gather and provide the following documentation:
- A copy of the solicitors’ letter or compensation request
- Full patient consultation notes and consenting documentation
- Any leaflets or electronic documents that you have sent the patient.
- A copy of the training certificate for the practitioner involved.
- Any correspondence between you and the patient.
The circumstances will always be subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. This can only be determined by the insurers following their review of the individual cases based on policy coverage, limitations and exclusions outlined in the policy wording.
When is Medical Malpractice Insurance Required?
You should obtain Medical Malpractice insurance once you start offering consultations and treatments. Although Medical Malpractice insurance for aesthetic treatments isn’t a legal requirement, it is good practice to ensure that you have adequate cover in place to protect your business in the event that a patient wishes to seek legal action against you for bodily injury and wrongful advice. It also covers financial damage you might bear should the case be won against you. The technicalities of your insurance depend on what kind of services you offer, your annual turnover derived from this activity and if you are aware of any previous claims, incidents, and claims/incidents that can give rise to a claim.
What are Kinds of Medical Malpractice Insurance?
When looking for the best Medical Malpractice Insurance there are two types. These are claims-made and occurrence-made medical liability malpractice insurance.
- Claims-made: This is the most common type of Medical Malpractice cover on the market at present. Claims-made written policies cover you for any claims/incidents which are reported to insurers during the policy year. If you are aware of a patient who is dissatisfied with a service you have provided or you have received a solicitor’s letter from a patient you previously treated, you must ensure that you advise your insurer as soon as possible. This type of cover will cover claims which may arise from previous treatments provided subject to no break in cover. When you first take out this type of policy, your insurers will provide you with a ‘retroactive date’ which will follow you through your aesthetic career and this date must be given to any new providers at renewal should you change insurer. Any retroactive cover will be based on their previous cover.
- Occurrence-made policy: This policy isn’t so much in effect nowadays and would cover claims/incidents which may arise from services performed during the policy period, irrespective of whether or not the policy is still in effect.
Who Needs Medical Malpractice Insurance?
Any self-employed practitioner will require independent malpractice insurance for the services they provide to ensure that they are protected. Here at Enhance, we cover licensed practitioners from Surgeons, Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Dental Hygienists, Dental Therapists, Dental Nurses, Operating Department Practitioners (ODP), Aestheticians and Pharmacists. We also cover Acupuncturists, Holistic Therapists, Laser Technicians and Beauty Therapists to perform a wide range of treatments. As long as you provide direct or indirect patient care, you will be exposed to and require this type of malpractice and liability insurance cover.
Is Medical Malpractice Insurance The Same As Workers' Compensation?
Medical Malpractice insurance is not the same as workers’ compensation. They both cover injuries, but for different people. Medical Malpractice insurance carriers cover the cost of damages that your business may cause. In contrast, workers’ compensation covers lost salary, medical bills and other costs that you might incur if your worker gets injured due to their job.
This protects your employees. Malpractice insurance protects you from third-party claims. They are, however, both important insurance covers for you to have. If you are looking for a Medical Malpractice quote then contact our team or buy medical malpractice insurance online with our online tool in minutes.
Is Medical Malpractice Insurance Mandatory To Have?
It isn’t a legal requirement in the UK to hold this type of insurance, however certain UK regulatory bodies may require you to take out this type of cover in order to comply with their guidelines and remain a registered professional and possibly for your client contracts.
How Does Medical Malpractice Insurance Work?
Medical Malpractice insurance covers and protects against claims made against you and your practice by a third party. This may include cover for the following: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, surgical errors, medication errors, attorney and court costs, settlement costs and compensatory damages. Your insurance coverage will have a limit. Most insurance policies cover up to £1,000,000 limit of indemnity which will either be ‘each and every claim’ or ‘in the aggregate’.
Is There An Excess, and Who Is Responsible For Paying For It?
Some services/covers under your policy may have an excess applicable. This means that in the event of a claim, the excess amount would need to be paid by the policyholder for each and every claim. This would have been brought to your attention at the quotation stage before you took out the policy so that you could make an informed decision choosing professional liability malpractice insurance.
What Do You Need To Consider Before Getting Medical Malpractice Insurance Coverage?
There are many things to take into consideration before choosing an insurance policy that works for you and it can be a daunting task. Having a knowledgeable, Insurance Broker to guide you through this process is invaluable. As part of their service, your Insurance Broker will provide a full risk review of all your current insurances, obtain details on the services you offer, your premises etc and with this information provide you with a presentation on the covers they recommend to avoid exposure to your business. Highlighting how much med mal insurance cover your business needs.
