The Surgeon’s Guide to Tail Insurance

Are you planning to change employers soon, or intending to leave a medical group to open your own private surgical practice?

Exploring your options for Extended Reporting Period (ERP) coverage, also known as medical malpractice “tail” insurance, needs to be a priority long before you even turn in your resignation.

The first thing you need to know is that your employer will likely offer you a tail coverage option, but at a premium that typically runs 200% of the cost of your expiring claims-made medical malpractice policy. The good news is that you can often save 20% on tail coverage – and get expert assistance in choosing the best standalone tail policy for your surgical specialty and practice location – by partnering with an independent malpractice insurance broker. Experienced MEDPLI tail insurance insurance brokers are ready to help you save money on your tail policy.

What is tail insurance?

Your employer-provided malpractice policy ends on your last day of work. Tail insurance is a standalone policy that protects you from liability for any future malpractice claims made on incidents that occurred during the time of your previous employment. Coverage is retroactive for any claims made on incidents occurring from the first date of work with your former employer.

Tail insurance is only necessary if your previous malpractice insurance policy from your former employer was a form of claims-made, also known as claims-paid, malpractice insurance.

If you don’t have tail insurance, you would be exposed to a lawsuit if a surgical patient you treated during your former employment files a claim against you before your new employer’s malpractice insurance coverage goes into effect. A tail policy also covers you if a former patient makes a claim several months or years after the incident occurred.

Also, studies have shown that historically, surgeons are more vulnerable to medical malpractice claims than physicians in non-surgical fields. For example, general surgeons and those in the practice of orthopedics, OB/GYN, plastic surgery, and urology are among the top 10 medical specialists most likely to be sued.

If you are a surgeon without tail insurance, you would be personally liable for all legal fees and indemnity payouts at trial for a claim made by a former patient. A tail policy will cover those expenses, and the policy carrier will provide your legal defense.

Tail insurance covers surgeons for liability for malpractice claims for incidents that occurred during previous employment but may have not affected the patient adversely enough to trigger a claim until months or years later.

The following are examples of previously occurring incidents that may result in future malpractice claims covered by a tail policy:

SURGPLI can often save you 20% on average by giving you the most affordable options for standalone tail policies from individual carriers. Those savings are more important than ever – malpractice insurance premiums are increasing each year due to trends in higher payouts to plaintiffs and legal fees. Surgeons should expect the cost of employer-provided tail premiums to increase as well.

Your SURGPLI insurance broker can help you choose the best and most affordable tail insurance coverage by: