Medical Malpractice Premiums

As a medical professional you have to be prepared for the worst, and for most doctors this means protecting yourself from lawsuits. Medical malpractice premiums are something that most doctor’s buy and keep current at all times. Medical malpractice premiums are connected with an insurance plan that will allow the doctor to continue to practice even if they are sued. This is a precautionary type of insurance, because very few doctors actually ever need the coverage, but it is not a coverage that can be overlooked.

The Cost of Medical Malpractice Premiums

Most people assume that doctors take home all of the money that they make from their practice and that they can spend it anyway they like. Being a doctor is expensive! Not only do medical professionals have the overhead of their physical office location, supplies, and staff, they also have to pay medical malpractice premiums. Like all insurance coverage, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. The result is that doctors are often paying large sums of money to make sure that they have coverage and representation if they are sued.

Medical malpractice premiums ensure the doctor that they will have someone on their side if they are sued. The way that this works is that the doctor pays an annual fee, usually between $5,000 to $150,000, based on the type of practice that a doctor engages in. These medical malpractice premiums will provide the doctor with a variety of services including:

Investigation of all claims against the doctor by the insurer
Legal representation for the health care provider
Payment of any claims to a specified dollar amount

Most medical malpractice premiums are associated with a certain amount of coverage. For instance, the doctor may buy a plan that will provide them with one million dollars in coverage per incident with up to three million dollars of coverage per year. The cost of medical malpractice premiums vary widely. The premiums are usually based on where the doctor is practicing as well as their specialty and any certifications that they may have.

Doctors are generally well served by pricing out medical malpractice premiums by several different insurance agencies. There may be a huge difference between providers, which will make the time and energy spent on getting quotes well worth it. Medical malpractice premiums generally need to be renewed each year.