In the Ohio medical malpractice insurance market, the claims made policy is the policy used by the overwhelming majority of physicians and hospitals. Since very few insurance companies still offer an occurrence policy for medical malpractice insurance, physicians tend to choose the claims made form. In addition, being on a claims made form allows for a smoother transition from one insurance company to another for physicians, provided the new insurance company picks up the physician's retroactive date. So what is a claims made policy?
A claims made policy protects an insured against claims or incidents that are reported while the policy is in force. Normally, a claims-made policy provides coverage for acts occurring prior to the claims made policy period - referred to as prior acts coverage. When a retroactive date is used, prior acts coverage is provided from the retroactive date forward to the current policy period. Claims that occurred prior to the retroactive date are not covered on the claims-made policy. With a claims made form, physicians are often concerned about their protection once they retire or cancel their policy. In this situation, tail coverage is available.
Tail coverage, also referred to as an extended reporting period, provides protection for claims that are filed after a claims made policy has been cancelled or non-renewed. This coverage is optional, and is most often used when the physician retires, moves out of state or switches to an occurrence policy.
Tip. Occurrence policies are easy to understand but with very few companies offering this coverage form, the cost can be very high. When considering a claims made form, you need to review your retroactive date and address the tail coverage prior to signing on.
To learn more about your insurance protection, contact one of our licensed advisors. We're here to help!