Malpractice insurance is like a safety net, helping protect everyone involved from unexpected legal issues. But here’s the thing—knowing exactly who should be listed on your policy is key.
Making thoughtful choices about who you add to your Malpractice policy means you’re giving your entire practice the best possible protection. Read on to learn more about who should be added to your Malpractice policy.
Parties to Add to Your Malpractice Policy
You may consider adding other parties to your Malpractice policy for better protection. Two common additions include business entities and doctors.
Adding an entity to your Malpractice policy
If you have a legal entity (LLC, PLLC, etc.), you need to have that entity listed on your Malpractice insurance. Business entities can be named in lawsuits, and if the entity is not on the policy, you will not have coverage.
To consider: If you own your practice and have a Business Owners Policy (BOP), you may think it has adequate protection. However, a Business Owners Policy does not always cover the business entity from Malpractice claims. Rather, a BOP includes coverage for:
- Commercial Property – Covers your office building and its contents, such as equipment, furnishings and inventory, from damage and theft.
- Business Interruption – Helps make up for some of your lost income if your practice experiences a fire, break-in or other business disruption.
- General Liability – Covers your business in the event of a lawsuit that results from a third-party personal injury or property damage claim.
Adding a doctor to your group policy
If you own a practice, you might want to add your employees to your Malpractice policy. Not only do you get consistent coverage for yourself, your practice and your partners, you may receive more competitive premiums for your entire group.
Group Malpractice insurance from the AOA Insurance Program offers key benefits:
- Single policy protection—Covers providers and the practice under one policy
- Practice coverage—Protects the business’s assets separately from the doctors’
- No coverage lapses—Eliminates individual risk of an associate’s outdated coverage
- Covers disciplinary negligence—Protects for alleged failure to discipline or terminate a negligent partner
- Consistent coverage across group—Minimizes the risk of an underinsured partner
- Employee coverage benefit—Protects office and support staff
- Simplified billing—Consolidates bills in one annual statement
- Group discounts—Offers eligibility for potential group premium discounts, including additional premium discounts when hiring ODs who are in their first and second year of practice.
To consider: If a doctor works for other employers too, it’s best for them to have their own individual AOA Malpractice policy. Here’s why:
If an associate doctor faces a claim for work done at another practice, but is covered under your group policy, that claim could affect your policy—even though the incident happened elsewhere.
To avoid this, you can have your doctors get their own individual policy and ensure your business entity is listed as an additional insured on that policy. This way, if both the doctor and your practice are named in a lawsuit, the claim goes through the doctor’s individual policy, protecting your group policy and your business from any unrelated claims.
How to Add Parties to Your Malpractice Policy
Whether you want to add your business entity, employees or other parties to your Malpractice policy, Lockton Affinity can help.
Knowledgeable representatives can walk you through every step—answering your questions, helping you understand your options and ensuring your policy fits the unique needs of your practice. With Lockton Affinity’s guidance, you can feel confident that everyone who needs protection is fully covered, allowing you to focus on what matters most: practicing with peace of mind.
To talk with a representative, call (888) 343-1998 Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or email Info@AOAInsuranceAlliance.com at your convenience.
