How I Found Medical Malpractice Insurance Coverage for a California Psychiatrist with His License in Probationary Status
Dr. Samuel Smith, a psychiatrist in California, contacted me on a recent Monday in a bit of a rush. He was joining a new medical group the following week and they were trying to add him to their group’s medical malpractice insurance policy with their standard carrier. However, the medical malpractice carrier denied him coverage because his license was in probationary status. This is why he reached out to me for assistance. I told him the process of procuring medical malpractice insurance coverage generally takes seven to 10 business days and that it would be very difficult to get him quotes prior to his start date. But I also promised him I would absolutely do my best for him.
Dr. Smith was concerned about his ability to obtain any medical malpractice coverage with his license being on probation. I told him that typically a license on probation does cause difficulty in securing medical malpractice coverage with standard, admitted carriers. I did reassure him that options would be available, as no one is uninsurable these days. I did break the news to him that due to the situation with his license, he would need to be placed with, and stay in, the non-standard medical malpractice insurance marketplace for a number of years while the license issue was cleared up.
Under a time-crunch and given his situation, I knew Dr. Smith’s options would be limited. I sent his application to my carriers on a rush basis to see who would be willing to provide coverage and at what cost. As expected, we mostly received declinations from the standard-market carriers, but I was able to secure one quote from an A-rated, non-standard carrier within three days. The pricing was in the ballpark of what he was looking to pay, and we could get the policy issued in time for his start date with the new group.
I sent the policy to Dr. Smith for his review. He was beyond ecstatic that I was able to get him coverage up and running in less than a week. He happily purchased the medical malpractice insurance policy and went to work for the new group without any worries about coverage. In a few years, Dr. Smith and I can try and get him back into the standard medical malpractice insurance marketplace and see which carriers will consider providing him coverage.
Are you looking for medical malpractice insurance in California? Or any other state? Are you practicing in a difficult to insure specialty? Call me at 708-848-2300 to discuss your options.
I am in a similar predicament timewise, but only to obtain a COI before JAN.31, 2020 and only to preserve mt medical staff membership at two Bay Area Hospitals. I have been denied renewal of my existing coverage for neglecting in paying my premium on time. The reason for this delay in payment had to do with a life-threatening illness of my brother, age 88, who lives in Missouri, and his wife having suffered a stroke, unable to provide care. As a resule, my payment was delayed, however, paid, but I was given a return (partial refund) check, which my assistant assumed was a refund for over-payment, then denied further coverage. Please recommend response., T. Powers, M.D., CA. lic. current